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MODERN  IDEAS  AND  METHODS. 


MODERN  IDEAS  AND 
METHODS 

FOR 

SCHOOL  TEACHERS  AND  STUDENTS 
IN  TRAINING 

From  a  Practical  Teacher's  Note  Book 

BY 

JOHN  EADES 

Head  Master  of  Kirkstall  Road  School,  Leeds: 

formerly  Lecturer  in  English  to  Certificate  Studentt  at  the  Lcedi  Centrt. 
Author  of  "  The  '  A.L.'  Neu>  English  Course." 


"New  times  demand  new  measures  and  new  men; 
The  world  advances,  and  in  time  outgrows 
The  laws  that  in  our  fathers'  day  were  best ; 
And,  doubtless,  after  us,  some  purer  scheme 
Will  be  shaped  out  by  wiser  men  than  we. 
Made  wiser  by  the  steady  growth  of  truth." 

JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL. 


,666 

leto  fork 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

1922 


EH 

PREFACE. 


'  I  'HIS  book  is  not  intended  to  supplant,  but  to  supplement, 
the  ordinary  text-book  on  School  Method.  It  is  not  a 
collection  of  ingenious  "  wrinkles,"  but  an  attempt  to  give 
guidance  to  teachers  and  students  in  method  on  modern  lines, 
in  a  way  somewhat  different  from  that  found  in  the  usual 
method  books.  It  is  theory  and  practice  combined,  and  is 
the  outcome  of  many  years'  teaching  experience.  The  notes 
have  been  made  from  time  to  time,  as  circumstance  and 
incident  gave  rise  to  them.  There  may  be  a  little  reiteration 
here  and  there,  but  that  will  serve  to  impress  the  points 
more  firmly  on  the  mind  of  the  reader. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  collection  will  prove  of  great  value 
to  young  teachers  and  to  students  in  training,  and  perhaps 
of  some  value  to  older  teachers  who  are  open  to  new  ideas 
and  new  suggestions. 

Many  of  the  General  Notes  will  prove  helpful  to  Sunday 

School   teachers. 

J.E. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  I.— GENERAL  NOTES            1 

Co-operation  in  Education      . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  1 

Teachers  and  Parents  . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  2 

Co-operation  in  School            . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  3 

When  the  Head  Teacher  is  a  Hindrance  . .         . .          . .         . .  4 

The  School  Staff          6 

The  Staff  Meeting        7 

Specialization      . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  8 

The  Three  B's 9 

The  Danger  of  Euts 11 

Living,  yet  Dead          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  12 

Educational  Inertia      . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  13 

Hold  fast  to  your  Ideals         . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  14 

For  the  College  Student         16 

Don't  do  all  the  Work           16 

A  Weak  Spot  in  Teaching     . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  17 

A  Word  of  Warning    . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  19 

Heuristic  Methods        . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  20 

Questioning         . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  20 

Dramatizing        . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  21 

Correlation          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .          . .         . .  22 

Faculty  Training          23 

The  Teacher's  Aim 24 

Avoid  Extremes            . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  24 

The  Successful  and  the  Unsuccessful  Teacher     . .          . .         . .  26 

Control  of  the  Voice    . .         . .         26 

The  True  Disciplinarian         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  28 

The  Power  of  the  Eyes          29 

Sympathy  of  the  Bight  Sort 30 

The  Primrose  Way       . .          . .          . .          . .  31 

Litterae  Humaniores     . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  33 

The  Teacher's  Chief  Woik 34 

The  Teacher's  Example          . .                     . .         35 

Tone         36 

Rewards  and  Punishments      . .          . .          . .          . .          .  .          . .  37 

Children  are  not  Morally  Perfect     . .         . ,         , .         , ,         , ,  39 


viil.  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Training  the  Will        39 

Moral  Training  . .         . .         . .         . .         ....         . .         . .  41 

Power  rather  than  Knowledge          43 

Scripture  Teaching       . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  44 

Moral  Education,  vitally  Important..         ..         ..         ..         ..  45 

Leading  u.  Driving       . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  49 

Memory  Training          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  49 

Training  needed,  not  Cramming       . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  51 

Nerve-Strain  in  Children        51 

To  Cure  Bad  Children            52 

Dull  Children 53 

The  Problem  of  Leisure  Time          C  54     , 

To  Cultivate  Taste OS— 

A  Love  of  the  Beautiful         CT^T^ 

The  Habit  of  Attention          57 

Subconsciousness          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  58 

To  keep  Attention        59 

Concentration     . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  60 

Interest 62 

The  Power  of  Interest            63 

How  to  Play 65 

Action  Necessary          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  66 

The  Value  of  Things  in  Teaching 67 

Natural  Activity           67 

Wonder 68 

To  Exercise  the  Powers  of  Observation      . .         . .         . .         . .  69 

Lesson  Illustrations      . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  70 

Physical  and  Mental  Fatigue            . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  70 

Learn  by  Thinking      . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  71 

A  School  Memento 72 

The  Cinematograph  in  School          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  73 

The  Curriculum            74 

Arrangement  of  the  Time-Table 75 

Length  of  Lessons       . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  76 

Afternoon  School          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  77 

Division  of  School  Work        78 

General  Knowledge       . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  79 

The  Newspaper  . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .         . .  80 

Reference  Books           . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  80 

Debates    ..         ....         81 

The  Need  of  System 82 

Arrangement  of  Desks . .         .           . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  83 

Home  Lessons   . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         •  •  84 

Some  Useful  Maxims 86 


CONTENTS.  ix. 

PAOK 

CHAPTEB  II.— EEADING 87 

A  Love  of  Beading      . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  87 

How  to  Read     . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  87 

Effective  Beading         88 

Important  Points  in  Beading            . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  89 

Beading  Lessons  in  Upper  Classes  . .          . .         . .         . .         . .  91 

Silent  Beading  . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .         . .         . .  92 

The  Aspirate 93 

Corrections  in  Beading            . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  94 

Beading  Books 94 

CHAPTER  m.— SPELLING 9G 

The  Teaching  of  Spelling 96 

The  Spelling  of  New  Words  . .          . .                     98 

Speaking  and  Spelling 99 

Spelling  Yesterday  and  To-day          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  100 

Dictation  Lessons         ....  101 


CHAPTER  IV.— COMPOSITION 103 

The  Importance  of  Composition       . .         . .          . .         . .         . .  103 

Thought  and  Expression  in  Composition    . .          . .          . .  104 

Beal  Composition         . .         . .         . .          . .          . .         . .         . .  104 

Good  Speaking  . .         . .          . .         . .          . .          . .         . .         . .  106 

The  Power  of  Speech 108 

To  Improve  the  Power  of  Speech 109 

To  secure  Clear,  Correct  Utterance  . .         . .         . .         . .  110 

Handwriting  in  Composition  Lessons          ..         ..         ..          ..Ill 

The  Use  of  the  Apostrophe  ..          ..          ..         ..         ..         ..  Ill 

When  to  use  Hyphens           . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  112 

Punctuation       . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .         . .  113 

Perfect  Compositions  not  Possible 114 

Errors  and  their  Correction    . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  115 

CHAPTER  V.— HANDWEITING 117 

Style         117 

The  Teaching  of  Handwriting          117 

Copy-Books        120 

CHAPTER  VI.— GRAMMAR 121 

The  Necessity  of  Grammar    . .         . .          . .          . .         . .         . .  121 

The  Teaching  of  Grammar    . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  121 

Visualization  in  Analysis 123 


x.  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTEB  VII.— LITEBATUKE 125 

The  Teaching  of  Literature   . .         . .         . ,         . .         . .         . .  125 

Literature  Lessons        . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  126 

Stories 127 

How  to  tell  a  Story 128 

Myths 130 

CHAPTER  VIII.— RECITATION 131 

How  to  Eecite  and  Memorize           . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  131 

Visualization  in  Eecitation     . .          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  132 

Eivalry  in  Recitation  . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  132 

CHAPTEB  IX.— ARITHMETIC 134 

The  Importance  of  Arithmetic          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  134 

The  Value  of  Arithmetic '..  134 

Arithmetic :  A  Difficult  Subject        . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  136 

Simple  Number 137 

Problems  by  the  Children 138 

The  Story  Method        138 

A  Useful  Object  for  Number 139 

For  the  Lower  Classes            . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  139 

Shopping  Methods        140 

Subtraction  by  Complementary  Addition    . .         . .         . .         . .  141 

Multiplication  Method  . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  143 

The  Italian  Method  of  Division        . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  144 

Decimalization  . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  145 

Short  Methods 147 

Another  Use  for  L.C.M 148 

Carpet  Problems            . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  150 

Exercises  in  Practical  Arithmetic 150 

CHAPTEB  X.— GEOGRAPHY          152 

Better  Methods  in  Geography            . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  152 

Why  Practical  Geography  ?     . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  154 

Experimental  Geography         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  154 

Real  Geography            155 

Geography  for  Younger  Children      . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  157 

Preliminary  to  Plan  Drawing            ..         ..         ..         ..          ..  157 

The  Teacher  of  Geography . .         . .  158 

Occasional  Lessons  in  Geography    . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  159 

Latitude  and  Longitude          . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  159 

Maps         160 

The  Heuristic  Method  for  Geography  and  History          . .         . .  161 


CONTENTS.  xi. 

PAOR 

CHAPTER  XI.— HISTOEY 163 

Why  Teach  History  ?  . .         . .         163 

History  Teaching  Methods      . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  164 

History  in  the  Making            . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  166 

Historical  Pictures        . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  167 

Historical  Novels           . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  168 

No  Lecturing  in  History         . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  168 

The  Time-Chart           169 

The  Philosophy  of  History ..171 

CHAPTER  XII.— SCIENCE 172 

Science  Lessons  in  Upper  Classes    . .         . .          . .          . .         . .  172 

Nature-Study  a  Delight           173 

Experimental  Nature-Study    . .         . .         . .         . .  174 

CHAPTER  XIII.— HANDWORK 175 

Why  Handwork  is  Taught     . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  175 

The  Teacher  and  Handwork  . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .  175 

The  Value  of  Handwork        177 

Handwork  as  Mental  Training          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  177 

Constructive  Handwork           . .         . .         . .          . .         . .         . .  178 

Needlework         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  179 

CHAPTER  XIV.— DRAWING           181 

.     Steps  in  Drawing          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  181 

Variety  in  Drawing      . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  182 

Drawing  Media 182 

Scales  in  Drawing        . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  183 

CHAPTER  XV.— SINGING 185 

Early  Ear  Training      . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  185 

Part-Singing 186 

Tone  in  Singing           •  •         187 

Odd  Moments  for  Music         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .          . .  188 

CHAPTER  XVI.— PHYSICAL   TRAINING           189 

Ordinary  Games  Insufficient  . .         . .         . .          . .         . .  189 

Physical  Exercises        190 


CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL    NOTES. 

EDUCATION  can  only  be  fully  effective 
wnen  there  is  the  friendly  co-operation  of 
Education.  a^  concerned — members  of  Education 
Committees,  officials,  teachers,  parents, 
and  employers  of  labour.  The  teacher  can  do  a 
great  deal  towards  securing  the  co-operation  of 
parents  and  employers.  The  parents'  lack  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  teacher  is  often  due  to  ignorance  of 
the  teacher's  aims  and  work  ;  and  the  teacher's  lack 
of  sympathy  with  the  parents  is  just  as  frequently 
due  to  ignorance  of  home  conditions. 

A  teacher  deals  with  a  child  very  differently  when 
the  home  circumstances  are  in  some  measure  known 
to  him.  An  occasional  visit  to  the  home — not  in  the 
capacity  of  an  attendance  officer — and  a  friendly 
chat  with  father  or  mother,  or  both,  about  Tommy 
and  his  work  and  prospects,  will  do  wonders  on  both 
sides. 

And  then  an  occasional  "  Open  Afternoon  "  at 
the  school,  when  parents  can  come  and  see  the 
conditions  under  which  their  children  work,  and  can 
at  the  same  time  have  a  word  or  two  with  the  class 
teacher,  is  a  valuable  means  of  arousing  parental 
interest.  Here,  also,  is  a  good  opportunity  for  the 
*  Head '  to  gather  the  parents  in  the  Hall  for  a  brief 
period,  to  have  a  talk  or  conference  on  any  matter 
of  moment ;  e.g.,  "  The  use  of  the  Free  Library  "  ; 
l(  The  value  of  manual  exercises  in  school  work  "  ; 
"  The  necessity  of  regularity  and  punctuality  in 


2  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

school  attendance  as  a  training  for  the  future,"  and 
so  on.  Give  parents  an  opportunity  to  express  their 
opinions  if  they  wish  to  do  so,  and  then,  if  there  is 
divergence  of  opinion,  it  can  probably  be  adjusted. 
Wind  up  the  afternoon  with  a  little  smart  Swedish 
drill  and  a  few  good  songs,  and  the  parents  will  have 
had  a  good  time  and  they  will  come  again ;  more- 
over, they  will  afterwards  support  your  efforts  by 
bringing  all  the  home  influences  to  bear  upon  the 
child,  and  will  help  the  teacher  to  make  the  best  use 
of  the  child's  school  opportunities. 

In  a  similar  way  the  teacher  can  get  into  touch 
with  employers  in  the  district ;  he  can  invite  them 
to  the  school  to  look  round,  or  he  can  visit  their 
places  of  employment  and  get  to  know  something 
of  their  requirements;  at  the  same  time,  he  will 
let  them  know  his  aims  and  ideals.  This  interchange 
of  views  will  form  a  valuable  link  between  the  two, 
and  will  enable  the  teacher  to  find  suitable  work 
for  many  boys  and  girls  when  the  time  comes  for 
them  to  leave  school. 

The  relationship  between  teacher  and 
parent  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  pro- 
Parents.  gress  of  the  child  and  to  the  success  of 
the  school.  Opportunities  must  be  found 
to  bring  teacher  and  parent  together.  This  can  be 
done  in  the  ways  indicated  in  the  previous  note,  also 
by  conferences  with  parents,  and  by  the  head 
teacher  setting  aside,  say,  two  hours — 2  p.m.  to  4 
p.m. — on  one  afternoon  per  week  for  interviews.  In 
these  ways  head  teacher  and  class  teacher  can  obtain 
a  good  deal  of  information  about  any  particular 
pupil,  which  will  be  found  very  helpful  in  dealing 


GENERAL    NOTES.  3 

with  him  or  her  in  school.  At  the  same  time  the 
parent  becomes  better  acquainted  with  school  con- 
ditions and  requirements,  and  with  the  educational 
progress  that  his  or  her  child  is  making. 

Meetings  of  this  kind  will  dispel  any  antago- 
nism that  exists  between  school  and  home;  teachers 
will  understand  better  the  parents'  point  of  view, 
and  parents  will  realize  that  the  teachers'  interest 
lies  beyond  ordinary  school  subjects ;  they  will 
see  that  it  extends  into  the  realm  of  moral  training 
and  general  welfare. 

The  two  qualities  necessary  for  successful  inter- 
course between  parent  and  teacher  are  sympathy 
and  tact.  These  qualities  the  teacher  must  have 
whether  the  parent  has  them  or  no. 

Competition  and  emulation  are  of  value 
wnen    use(i    judiciously,    but    in    school 
School.         work  they  should  be  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule.     The  less  the  school  reflects 
the  competitive  commercial  spirit,  the  better.     Co- 
operation should  be  the  ruling  idea. 

In  many  subjects  children  should  be  allowed  to 
work  in  pairs  ;  not  pairs  chosen  in  any  haphazard 
way,  but  selected  so  that  the  one  child  can  be  a  real 
help  to  the  other.  A  comparatively  dull  child  will  gain 
a  great  deal  by  a  working  association  with  a  brighter, 
cleverer  comrade ;  while  the  explanation  of,  and 
attention  to,  detail  needed  for  the  help  of  the  weaker 
vessel  will  be  a  source  of  enjoyment  to  the  better 
scholar,  and  a  means  of  fixing  things  more  firmly  in 
his  own  mind. 

Practical  arithmetic,  mensuration,  and  geometry 
especially  lend  themselves  to  this  method.  One  boy 


4  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

can  use  the  ruler  or  tape  measure,  while  the  other 
makes  a  rough  sketch  and  takes  down  particulars. 
The  paper  containing  the  result  can  be  placed  on  the 
desk  between  them  ;  they  can  then  discuss  a  suitable 
scale  for  it,  calculate  area,  cost  of  covering,  etc.,  and 
compare  results. 

Composition,  and  many  lessons  in  geography, 
history,  and  science  also  admit  of  co-operation.  How 
much  better  it  is  to  create  and  foster  in  the  minds  of 
the  children  a  help-one-another  spirit,  than  to  train 
each  to  fight  for  his  own  hand  and  to  seek  glory  for 
himself ! 

Methods  of  co-operation  may  be  noisy  at  times, 
but  what  of  that  ?  What  need  is  there  in  the  class- 
room for  the  silence  of  the  examination  room  ?  If 
the  gentle  hubbub  is  due  to  the  checking  of  each 
other's  work,  to  an  exchange  of  views,  to  a  little 
argument  as  to  the  best  method  of  solving  a  problem, 
or  of  dealing  with  a  certain  subject,  let  it  pass. 

There  is  only  one  danger  to  be  guarded  against, 
due  to  the  inherent  laziness  of  a  small  percentage  of 
children,  namely,  that  one  child  may  merely  copy 
the  work  of  the  other  instead  of  exerting  himself  and 
using  his  own  brains.  The  danger  can  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum,  if  not  entirely  obliterated,  by  the 
teacher's  careful  and  constant  supervision,  and  by 
training  all  the  children  to  realize  the  value  to  them- 
selves of  co-operation  and  of  personal  and  persistent 
effort. 

The   unwise  and  often  unjust  treatment 
When  the     meted  out  by  certain  Head  Teachers  to 
Te  a  h  r  is     ^ne  mem^ers  °f  their  staff  is  one  consider- 
Hindrance.    a^e  cause  of  the  lack  of  suitable  candi- 
dates for  the  teaching  profession ;    and, 


GENERAL   NOTES.  5 

as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  women  are  greater 
sinners  in  this  direction  than  men,  probably  because 
they  are  more  '  nervy.' 

It  is  by  no  means  a  rare  thing  to  hear  a  teacher 
during  a  holiday  give  expression  to  the  feeling 
that  he  or  she  dreads  returning  to  school  owing  to 
the  conduct  of  the  Head.  Some  Head  Teachers  seem 
to  forget  that  they  have  ever  been  Class  Teachers. 
They  show  no  sympathy  with  an  assistant's  diffi- 
culties ;  they  make  no  allowances  for  the  different 
capabilities  of  the  children — all  must  be  made  to  toe 
the  same  mark ;  they  seem  to  revel  in  finding  fault, 
and  rarely  condescend  to  a  word  of  praise  ;  in  fact, 
they  spend  their  time  in  '  nagging '  their  teachers 
instead  of  helping  them.  How  much  more  service- 
able it  would  be  both  to  teacher  and  class  to  take 
out  nine  or  ten  of  the  backward  children  and  teach 
them,  instead  of  wasting  the  time  in  finding  fault  and 
in  excessive  supervision! 

There  are  other  Head  Teachers  who  are  the  im- 
personation of  '  Suspicion.'  Although  their  assistants 
are  college-trained,  and  are  honest  men  and  women, 
they  cannot  trust  them ;  they  look  upon  them  as 
people  likely  to  be  up  to  some  trickery,  or  anxious  to 
slip  their  duties  at  every  available  opportunity. 
They  must  see  every  bit  of  work  that  is  done ;  every 
minute  of  time  must  be  accounted  for  ;  every  method 
used  must  be  their  method.  There  is  no  freedom, 
and  consequently  no  individuality,  and  little,  if  any, 
initiative.  Every  teacher  is  a  replica  of  the  Head ; 
everything  is  cut  and  dried  to  one  set  pattern — the 
Head  Teacher's,  which  is  not  always  and  necessarily 
the  best  pattern. 

If  a  Head  Teacher  has  on  his  staff  a  man  who 
B 


6  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

'  slacks,'  who  shows  little  interest  in  his  work,  or  in 
the  general  welfare  of  the  children  and  the  school,  he 
should  secure  his  dismissal,  for  such  a  teacher  has 
missed  his  vocation ;  but  surely  a  trained  teacher  of 
that  type  is  a  rare  exception.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  unvarying  suspicious  attitude  of  a  Head  Teacher 
is  calculated  to  make  such  exceptions  more  numerous. 

There  are  still  other  Heads  who  are  so  tactless  as 
to  reprimand  their  teachers  in  the  presence  of  the 
children,  and  still  they  expect  them  to  maintain  dis- 
cipline, and  retain  the  respect  of  their  pupils  ! 

There  can  never  be  a  suitable  educational 
'  atmosphere '  under  any  of  these  conditions. 
Certain  '  paper '  results  may  be  produced,  but  they 
are  of  little  value.  Only  by  harmonious  working, 
by  happy,  healthy  conditions,  by  mutual  con- 
sideration, sympathy,  and  tact  can  the  best  and 
truest  educational  results  be  obtained.  The  great 
majority  of  Head  Teachers  play  the  part  their  name 
implies  :  they  organize,  they  advise,  and  they  teach. 
It  is  the  duty  of  all  to  do  likewise. 

An  important  factor  in  the  successful 
Staff  C  C  working  of  any  school  is  that  there  be 

harmony  and  unity  among  the  members 
of  the  staff.  We  all  know  from  experience  that 
there  are  certain  people  we  meet  who  repel  us,  yet 
we  know  not  why.  Somehow  they  seem  to  exist 
outside  our  circle  of  thought  and  feeling ;  and,  owing 
to  the  existence  of  an  invisible  something  between 
us,  we  can  never  harmonize,  and  we  are  never  able 
to  understand  each  other. 

There  are  others  who  appeal  to  us  immediately 
we  come  into  contact  with  them ;  we  enjoy  their 


GENERAL    NOTES.  7 

conversation,  and  we  feel  we  can  associate  with  them 
and  work  with  them.  The  same  condition  of  things 
applies  to  the  members  of  a  school  staff.  If  the  Head 
cannot  work  with  any  member  of  the  staff,  it  may 
not  be  through  inefficiency,  or  any  other  cause  that 
can  be  easily  defined ;  but  if  there  is  an  invisible 
disturbing  element,  it  is  better  for  all  concerned 
that  that  member  of  the  staff  should  find  another 
school.  Or  if  there  is  one  member  of  the  staff  who 
generates  a  wet-blanket  influence,  or  who  tends  to 
produce  a  feeling  of  discontent  among  the  other 
members,  he  or  she  also  should  seek  a  new  sphere 
of  labour,  voluntarily  or  otherwise.  Complete  har- 
mony and  a  happy,  sympathetic  atmosphere  are 
indispensable  elements  in  the  successful  working  of 
any  school. 

The  Staff  "^ne  Staff  Meeting  has,  for  a  number  of 
Meeting.  years,  been  a  recognized  feature  in  all 
good  schools. 

In  earlier  days,  it  consisted  mainly  of  criticiz- 
ing a  lesson  given  by  one  of  the  members  of  the 
staff,  each  of  whom  in  turn  gave  a  model  lesson  for 
the  benefit  of  himself  and  others.  These  lessons 
were  of  questionable  value,  as  in  most  cases  the 
Head  never  gave  a  lesson,  and  the  older  and  more 
experienced  teachers  wished  to  do  likewise,  and 
resented  criticism,  especially  if  the  younger  teachers 
took  part.  When,  for  any  reason,  the  appointed 
lesson  was  not  given,  the  meeting  often  resolved 
itself  into  a  fault-finding  opportunity  for  the  Head, 
and  occasionally  for  recrimination  on  the  part  of 
some  members  of  the  staff. 

But  that  was  the  experimental  stage.     To-day, 


MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

a  tactful  Head  Teacher  points  out  any  delinquency 
or  weakness  to  the  individual  concerned,  and  he 
does  it  privately ;  the  Staff  Meeting  is  reserved  for 
better  things.  A  meeting  for  half-an-hour  once  a 
week  at  the  close  of  afternoon  school  to  discuss 
matters  of  method,  organization,  and  discipline,  and 
for  an  interchange  of  opinion  on  any  subject  of 
immediate  interest  that  is  germane  to  the  harmoni- 
ous and  improved  working  of  the  school,  will  be 
found  of  great  value.  It  will  keep  teachers  in  touch 
with  modern  thought,  changes,  and  improvements, 
and  so  prevent  them  settling  into  ruts;  it  will 
keep  them  acquainted  with  the  work  done  by  their 
colleagues  in  the  various  classes  of  the  school ;  it 
will  encourage  experiment  and  initiative,  and  give 
teachers  an  outlook  far  beyond  the  four  walls  of 
their  own  classrooms. 

Apart  from  the  various  phases  of  the  ordinary 
school  subjects,  there  is  a  wide  field  for  the  choice 
of  topics,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  various  headings 
in  these  General  Notes. 

This    has    been    in    use    in    my    school 

for  a  number  of  years,  and  is  a  proved 

success.     In  the  lower  standards,  art  and 

music  only  are  specialized  ;  if  a  teacher  well  qualified 

in   nature-study   is   available,   that   subject   also   is 

added.     In  the  upper  standards,  beginning  with  the 

fourth,  one  teacher  takes  all  the  mathematical  work, 

including    geometry ;     another   takes    the    art    and 

English    subjects ;     and   another   takes   geography. 

history,  science,  and  music. 

A  teacher  can  always  teach  best  those  subjects 
about  which  he  knows  most,  and  in  which  he  is 


GENERAL   NOTES.  9 

enthusiastically  interested.  His  enthusiasm,  and 
interest,  and  keenness  infect  his  pupils  and  cause 
them  to  produce  more  and  better  work.  To  hear  a 
teacher  who  dislikes  history  give  a  history  lesson, 
or  one  who  has  no  interest  in  and  little  acquaintance 
with  nature-study  give  a  lesson  in  that  subject,  is 
sufficient  to  convince  any  unprejudiced  observer  of 
the  value  of  specialization.  How  much  more  eco- 
nomical and  profitable  to  let  such  a  teacher  spend  his 
time  and  energy  in  teaching  something  in  which  he 
is  interested  ;  for  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  meet  a  teacher 
who  has  not  one  or  more  favourite  subjects. 

Some  people  who  have  not  tried  specialization 
say  it  must  affect  adversely  the  tone  and  discipline 
of  the  school ;  the  answer  of  experience  is  that  it 
does  nothing  of  the  kind. 

There  is  an  initial  difficulty  in  making  the  time- 
table ;  when  that  is  done  the  remainder  is  easy. 
Teachers  like  the  system ;  children  like  it ;  there  is 
no  rush,  no  overstrain  ;  the  standard  of  attainment 
is  higher  with  less  work,  and  the  general  result  is  in 
every  way  satisfactory. 

The  The  attempt  to  make  every  child  at  the 

Three  R's.  term  examination  get  all  sums  correct, 
have  no  errors  in  spelling,  do  beautiful 
writing  and  faultless  figures,  and  obtain  the  highest 
mark  for  mechanical  reading,  is  a  legacy  from  the 
bad  old  days  of  "  Payment  by  Results." 

The  aim  of  those  days  meant  hours  of  drudgery 
for  teachers  and  children  alike;  they  not  infrequently 
ruined  a  teacher's  health,  and  caused  many  a  child 
to  hate  the  very  name  of  school.  They  also  caused 
many  talented  young  men  and  women,  who  once 


10  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

thought  of  teaching  as  a  life  profession,  to  pass  by 
on  the  other  side.  These  aims  still  linger  here  and 
there,  but  they  are  on  their  last  legs ;  the  develop- 
ment and  extension  of  child  study  is  pronouncing 
banishment  upon  them. 

Modern  teachers  recognize  that  no  two  children 
in  any  class  are  alike;  some  are  strong  on  the 
literary  side,  some  on  the  mathematical,  some  on 
both,  a  few  on  neither.  Some  children  simply  can- 
not spell,  or  calculate  accurately  beyond  a  certain 
very  elementary  stage ;  and  the  attempt  to  make  them 
toe  the  same  line  as  those  to  whom  these  subjects 
present  no  difficulty,  is  both  wasteful  and  cruel. 

Everybody  will  agree  that  the  three  K's  are  of 
fundamental  importance  to  any  boy  or  girl  who 
wishes  to  be  a  student,  or  who  desires  to  enter  pro- 
fessional or  commercial  life ;  these  must  have  a 
thorough  grasp  of  them.  Moreover,  every  child 
should,  as  far  as  possible,  receive  a  good  grounding 
in  the  mechanical  elements  of  the  three  K's,  because, 
taken  together,  they  are  the  foundation-stones  of 
knowledge;  and  this  must  be  done,  even  at  the 
cost  of  a  certain  amount  of  'grind,'  which  seems  to 
be  inseparable  from  these  subjects. 

At  the  same  time,  we  must  remember  that  there 
are  many  children  who  have  neither  the  capacity, 
nor  the  desire,  for  professional  life;  and  parental 
insistence  on  some  of  them  taking  up  these  occu- 
pations accounts  for  the  failures  we  hear  of,  and 
the  consequent  disgust  of  their  employers,  who 
usually  blame  the  schools,  instead  of  blaming  the 
parents.  Many  a  lad  has  been  thrust  into  an  office, 
who  would  have  made  a  capable  joiner  or  mechanic. 
But  many  children  who  have  little  capacity  for  more 


GENERAL   NOTES.  11 

than  one  of  the  three  K's,  frequently  take  a  delight 
in  nature-study,  literature,  handwork,  drawing,  paint- 
ing, or  music.  The  education  and  training  of  such 
children  should  proceed  mainly  through  the  subjects 
that  appeal  to  them,  rather  than  through  those 
which  custom  has  hitherto  prescribed. 

A  very  subtle  danger  lying  in  the  path  of 
Dan  er  of  ^e  certificated  teacher  of  several  years' 
Ruts.  standing  is  the  tendency  to  settle  down  into 

a  kind  of  professional  rut.  He  has  safely 
forded  the  examination  streams  with  their  swiftly- 
flowing  currents  that  at  times  threatened  to  rush  him 
off  his  feet,  and  now  the  reaction  sets  in,  and  he  feels 
inclined  to  relax  and  take  things  easy.  Of  course 
a  proper  rest  from  arduous  study  is  very  necessary, 
but  if  it  be  too  prolonged,  deterioration  sets  in. 

One  plan  of  avoiding  this  is  to  build  up  a  good 
library,  and  make  constant  use  of  it.  The  bias  may 
be  towards  literature,  or  history,  or  science  ;  but,  in 
addition  to  books  on  these  subjects,  there  should  be 
up-to-date  works  on  matters  more  closely  related  to 
one',8  professional  work ;  books  on  child  study, 
physiology,  modern  teaching  methods,  school  systems 
of  other  countries,  etc.  If  the  mind  be  always  open 
to  new  suggestions  the  teacher  will  have  no  difficulty 
in  keeping  up  with  the  times,  or  even  in  advance  of 
them.  It  is  as  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  have 
access  to  the  latest  books  on  school  organization  and 
method  as  it  is  for  the  medical  man  to  have  access 
to  the  latest  works  on  surgery  and  medicine.  The 
more  widely-read  and  cultured  the  teacher  is,  the 
greater  will  be  his  influence  in  moulding  the  characters 
of  his  pupils. 


12  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

It  is  not  infrequently  one's  painful  experi- 
ence-  to  meet  with  teachers  who  are  physi- 
cally alive,  but  educationally  dead.  Having 
taken  their  college  course  and  received  their  final 
certificate,  they  have  considered  that  as  their  goal  in 
education,  and  there  they  have  rested  and  probably 
will  rest  until  they  are  compelled  to  seek  different 
employment,  or  until  the  retiring  age  comes  round. 
There  are  many  teachers  in  our  schools  to-day 
— head  teachers  as  well  as  class  teachers — who  never 
read  a  book  dealing  with  education,  and  who  appar- 
ently from  one  year  to  another  never  study  an 
educational  article  outside  the  columns  of  the  weekly 
professional  journals.  They  pick  up  hints  and  tricks 
from  papers  which  cater  for  that  kind  of  thing,  but 
as  for  trying  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  advance  of 
educational  thought,  or  to  keep  up-to-date  in  methods 
of  teaching,  they  never  think  of  it.  And  yet  their 
whole  life,  which  includes  their  school  life,  is  pro- 
foundly affected  by  their  intellectual  condition.  It 
is  common  experience  how  self-sufficient,  narrow, 
and  stereotyped  that  teacher  becomes  who  neglects 
to  replenish  his  mind  with  the  food  provided  by 
great  thinkers,  including  those  who  are  spending 
themselves  on  subjects  pertaining  to  education. 

This  indifference  is  not  always  due  to  slackness 
or  to  laziness,  it  is  often  due  to  allowing  studies  to 
slide,  until  finally  serious  subjects  are  not  read  at  all. 
They  have  no  attraction ;  they  do  not  interest. 
Often  these  teachers  have  taught  the  same  classes 
for  several  years,  so  they  think  they  know  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  various  subjects  well  enough.  What 
was  good  for  last  year's  pupils  is  good  for  this  year's  ; 
and  so  they  are  of  opinion  that  the  lessons  they  have 


GENERAL   NOTES.  13 

once  prepared  are  like  some  sermons,  they  will  last 
a  lifetime. 

Every  teacher  should  know  that  the  stereotyped 
mind  coming  into  contact  with  the  active  child  mind 
does  great  injury.  The  teacher  who  has  long  given 
up  learning  ought  to  give  up  teaching.  It  is  only  by 
keeping  our  own  intellectual  life  fresh  and  vigorous 
that  we  can  impress  the  minds  of  the  children  in  our 
charge,  develop  in  them  the  forces  of  intelligence, 
and  give  them  a  love  for  learning,  which  will  remain 
with  them  long  after  school  days  are  over. 

Teachers  are  largely  conservative  in 
Inertia*0  their  views  regarding  educational  methods. 

Any  new  idea  is  looked  upon  with  a  certain 
amount  of  suspicion.  They  have  taught  certain 
subjects  successfully  for  so  many  years,  so  what  need 
have  they  for  a  new  psychology,  or  a  new  pedagogy  ? 
The  answer  to  much  of  this  is  that  children  have 
learnt  a  great  deal  in  days  gone  by  in  spite  of  the 
indifferent  methods  used  by  teachers.  And  it  is 
equally  true  that  unscientific  methods  have  stunted 
the  mental  growth  of  thousands  of  children  which 
never  would  have  been  stunted  but  for  their  opera- 
tion. 

One  is  prepared  to  admit  that  the  personality  of 
the  teacher  is  the  most  important  factor ;  but  per- 
sonality cannot  make  up  for  deficiencies  in  training, 
nor  can  it  fill  in  gaps  of  essential  knowledge.  If 
teachers  are  to  succeed  in  developing  every  child's 
physical,  moral,  and  intellectual  powers  to  their  full 
capacity,  they  must  have  open  minds,  they  must  be 
prepared  to  consider  new  ideas  and  new  methods, 
they  must  be  willing  to  try  them,  and  then  to  adopt 


14  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

such  as  they  find  useful  to  themselves  and  suitable 
for  their  pupils. 

Most  students,  on  the  completion  of  their 
to°  our*  college  course,  enter  upon  their  life's  work 
Ideals.  with  joy  and  enthusiasm ;  they  have 

numerous  ideals  which  they  are  anxious 
to  put  into  practice,  and  they  are  glad  that  the  time 
has  arrived  for  them  to  be  tried.  But  as  the  days  go 
by  there  is  not  infrequently  bitter  disillusionment ; 
the  pursuit  of  the  ideals  generated  in  college  days  is 
found  to  be  in  many  cases  impracticable,  if  not  im- 
possible. 

Evidently  this  should  not  be  so  ;  and  when  the 
first  spasm  of  disappointment  is  over  the  young 
teacher  should  set  to  work  to  find  out  the  cause  of 
his  failure.  It  may  be  the  fault  of  the  Head  Teacher, 
who  has  no  sympathy  with  any  '  new-fangled ' 
notions  about  education,  and  who  believes  that  what 
was  good  enough  in  his  boyhood  days  is  good  enough 
now.  There  are  people  of  this  type  belonging  to  both 
sexes,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  Education  Authorities  to 
see  to  it  that  such  teachers  either  undertake  to  keep 
pace  with  the  advance  of  educational  thought  and 
practice,  or  give  place  to  others  who  will.  It  is  dis- 
astrous for  an  enthusiastic  young  teacher  to  be 
appointed  to  a  school  in  which  the  old  wooden,  tread- 
mill, grinding  methods  of  half  a  century  ago  are  still 
in  full  swing.  Any  young  teacher  who  finds  himself 
or  herself  in  such  a  daily  environment  will  be  well 
advised  to  leave  at  the  end  of  the  first  term. 

But  it  is  not  always  the  Head  Teacher's  fault. 
Very  frequently  young  teachers  are  staggered  by  the 
magnitude  of  their  new  responsibility.  School  Practice 


GENEKAL   NOTES.  15 

was  child's  play  compared  with  this.  The  children 
may  have  been  troublesome  during  those  practice 
periods ;  but  there  was  time  off,  and  the  Head 
Teacher,  or  the  Master  or  Mistress  of  Method,  was 
always  at  their  elbow  to  assist.  Now  they  are  '  on 
their  own,'  there  are  fifty  different  '  young  ideas  '  to 
be  trained  how  to  shoot ;  there  are  many  subjects 
to  teach  ;  and  the  teaching  has  to  be  effective.  So, 
with  one  thing  and  another,  the  ideal  they  cherished, 
of  moulding  and  developing  the  characters  of  the 
children,  and  of  training  them  to  become  good  and 
useful  citizens,  seems  to  be  quite  crowded  out ;  and 
as  time  passes  on,  other  ideals  go  to  keep  it  company. 

It  is  as  well  to  remember  that  this  always  happens 
where  children  are  treated  in  the  mass,  instead  of 
being  regarded  as  distinct,  living,  growing  individuals. 
The  young  teacher  must  study  the  child  mind  at  first 
hand,  and  get  to  know  as  much  about  it  as  the 
medical  man  knows  about  the  body.  If  he  follows 
up  his  college  studies  by  researches  in  this  direction, 
there  will  be  no  lack  of  interest ;  and  he  will  find  his 
ideals  stimulated  instead  of  crushed.  He  will  soon 
find  out  how  to  deal  with  every  individual  in  his  class, 
and  so  will  be  able  to  foster  and  develop  the  best  that 
is  in  each.  This  can  be  done  only  by  taking  a 
personal  interest  in  each  child,  by  discovering  his 
capabilities,  by  getting  to  know  as  much  as  possible 
of  his  home  conditions  and  out -of -school  life,  and  so 
being  in  a  position  to  view  things  from  his  standpoint. 

With  this  knowledge  at  his  disposal,  and  by 
making  use  of  it  with  sympathy  and  tact,  he  will  be 
conscious  that,  after  all,  his  ideals  are  not  altogether 
unattainable,  and  that  he  is  bringing  to  bear  upon 
the  growing  lives  and  developing  characters  of  the 


16  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

children  an  influence  that  will  continue  to  make 
for  righteousness  ;  and,  in  the  days  to  come,  his 
pupils  will  think  of  him  with  feelings  of  gratitude  as 
one  who  was  a  real  friend  and  guide  of  their  youth. 

The  teacher-student  has  to  be  on  his 
Colieee6  guard  against  the  faddist  who  gives  one 
Student.  ^ne  impression  that  his  is  the  only  subject 

of  value  in  the  whole  curriculum.  It  is 
wise  to  keep  subjects  in  their  proper  perspective— 
to  be  careful  not  to  overrate  the  importance  of  one 
subject,  and  work  it  at  the  expense  of  others  equally 
important.  On  the  other  hand,  he  must  be  on  his 
guard  against  settling  down  into  ruts,  which  are  fatal 
to  all  educational  progress.  He  must  take  a  sane 
and  intelligent  view  of  the  educational  principles 
propounded  in  the  lecture-room,  and  must  test  their 
value  during  his  periods  of  school  practice  and  in 
his  class  teaching  when  college  days  are  over. 

An  educational  principle  cannot  be  applied 
mechanically  and  indiscriminately  to  all  children ; 
the  human  element  is  an  important  factor,  and  must 
always  be  taken  into  consideration.  All  children 
are  not  alike  either  in  temperament  or  capacity,  and 
we  must  modify  our  principle  to  fit  the  child,  not  try 
to  make  the  child  fit  the  principle.  Education  is  not 
an  exact  science  like  mathematics  ;  its  principles 
are  only  general  principles,  and  they  have  to  be 
adapted  to  suit  the  varying  mental  and  physical 
conditions  of  the  individual  child. 

Unless  some  teachers  are   doing   all   the 
0       work,  or  nearly  all  of  it,  they  seem  to 
Work.  think  they  are  not  earning  their  salary. 

They  must  do  the  talking,   and  experi- 


GENERAL   NOTES.  17 

meriting,  and  fussing  about,  or  things  will  be  at  a 
standstill.  But  all  bhis  is  due  to  a  mistaken  idea. 
The  normal  child  is  eager  to  know,  and  to  do,  and  to 
find  things  out  for  himself ;  when  he  is  treated 
as  a  member  of  a  church  congregation,  he  tends  to 
lose  his  desire  to  know,  and  his  energy  for  work  dis- 
appears. 

This  kind  of  teacher,  when  he  puts  one  or  two 
problems  in  arithmetic  on  the  blackboard  for  the 
children  to  work,  cannot  refrain  from  making  sure  that 
they  all  know  how  to  solve  them  before  they  begin 
to  put  the  solutions  into  their  exercise  books.  He 
gives  them  an  object  to  draw ;  but  the  preliminary 
talk  makes  sure  that  the  child  knows  width,  height, 
wide  parts,  narrow  parts,  where  the  handle  is  joined, 
if  there  is  a  handle,  and  every  other  detail  about  it. 
When  the  teacher's  introductory  talk  is  over,  no  room 
is  left  for  the  child's  independent  judgment ;  and 
when  the  lesson  is  finished  he  is  no  more  able  to 
deal  with  a  new  object  without  assistance  than  he 
was  at  the  beginning.  This  method  may  produce 
neat  books,  but  it  dulls  a  child's  intellect  and  kills 
his  initiative. 

It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  know  where  to  help, 
and  where  to  leave  the  child  to  his  own  resources. 
The  child  may  blunder ;  he  may  stumble  ;  it  is  as 
well  that  he  should.  Not  until  he  feels  the  need  of 
help  should  help  be  given. 

A  teacher  carefully  prepares  his  lesson, 
Spot  in  arranges  his  specimens  and  illustrations, 
Teaching.  an^  starts  off  with  a  flourish  of  trumpets 

to  accomplish  his  purpose.  But  the  care- 
ful observer  soon  notices  that  it  is  the  teacher's  lesson 


18  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

rather  than  the  children's ;  he  is  the  prime  mover, 
talker,  and  worker.  Just  occasionally  a  child  here 
and  there  is  allowed  to  interpose  with  a  question  or  a 
remark,  but  there  isn't  much  time  for  that  sort  of 
thing ;  the  teacher  must  get  through  the  amount  of 
information  he  has  marked  out,  or  the  heavens  will 
fall ;  and  so  he  forges  ahead. 

Bub  one  by  one.  his  followers  begin  to  drop  out ; 
they  really  have  nothing  to  do  but  sit  still,  close  their 
mouths,  open  their  eyes  and  ears,  and  take  what  the 
teacher  has  prepared  for  them,  as  good  little  boys 
and  girls  always  should.  As  the  lesson  proceeds, 
the  ranks  of  the  inattentives  and  troublesomes  find 
fresh  recruits  in  spite  of  numerous  attempts  to  pull 
them  up ;  until,  when  near  the  end  of  the  journey,  but 
for  the  devotion  of  a  handful  of  quiet  souls,  the 
teacher  would  be  ploughing  his  lonely  furrow. 

What  is  the  mysterious  cause  of  all  this  waste  of 
energy  ?  The  simple  fact  that  the  lesson  has  been 
the  teacher's  and  not  the  children's  ;  there  has  been 
a  lack  of  co-operative  effort,  and  so  the  lesson  has  bled 
to  death  on  its  journey.  The  teacher  has  failed  to 
realize  that  the  child  mind  is  a  living  thing,  that 
activity  is  its  chief  characteristic,  and  that  its  interest 
will  accompany  and  follow  in  the  wake  of  that  activity. 
Let  the  child  co-operate  ;  give  him  something  to  find 
out,  something  to  do ;  leave  places  in  your  lesson 
for  the  discharge  of  his  pent-up  energies,  and  then 
his  thoughts  will  not  wander  to  the  old  watch-spring 
in  his  pocket,  or  the  piece  of  paper  under  the  desk ; 
neither  will  he  have  a  desire  to  tickle  the  ear  of  the 
boy  in  front  of  him,  or  to  stick  a  pin  into  his  neigh- 
bour's leg.  If  teachers  would  keep  this  in  mind,  they 
would  have  fewer  '  backwards  and  troublesomes/ 


GENERAL    NOTES.  19 

and  most  of  their  disciplinary  difficulties  would  dis- 
appear. 

The  reaction  from  the  abolition  of  the  old 
Word  of  system  of  examinations  has,  as  was  to 
Warning.  be  feared,  led  some  teachers  too  far  in 
the  opposite  direction.  Some  who  con- 
sider themselves  '  advanced '  will  tell  you  that  it 
matters  very  little  what  subjects  are  taught  in 
school ;  the  important  thing  is  how  they  are  taught ; 
and  they  express  no  small  scorn  for  mechanical 
accuracy,  or  for  anything  in  the  nature  of  '  grind.' 

There  are  always  some  people  who  work  an  ideal 
until  it  is  as  tinny  and  distasteful  as  a  cheap  piano. 
Give  them  a  word,  or  a  catch-phrase,  and  they  are 
on  the  scent  in  a  moment.  '  Faculty  training,' 
1  correlation,'  '  dramatization,'  '  self-activity,'  '  self- 
realization,'  all  appear  in  their  turn,  and  are  ridden 
to  death  by  some  of  their  advocates. 

The  cultivation  of  intelligence  is  of  primary  im- 
portance, but  surely  it  can  be  cultivated  by  the  use 
of  valuable  material  as  well  as  by  that  which,  for  any 
other  purpose,  is  quite  useless.  What  is  taught 
certainly  does  matter.  Accuracy,  too,  is  something 
which  cannot  be  waived  aside.  To  say  that  it  does 
not  matter  whether  a  child  gets  a  sum  in  arithmetic 
correct  or  no,  so  that  he  understands  the  principle 
and  knows  how  to  do  it,  is  the  height  of  midsummer 
madness.  Neither  can  memory  training  be  neglected. 
Both  accuracy  and  memory  will  be  needed  in  the 
wider  world  of  life,  and  both  are  developed  by  repe- 
tition and  practice.  Call  it  drudgery  if  you  like  ;  but 
it  is  very  necessary  drudgery. 


20  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

'  Heuristic '  comes  from  a  Greek  word 
which,  means  '  to  find  out,'  and  heuristic 
methods  are  those  which  allow  children 
to  find  out  things  for  themselves,  instead  of  being 
told  by  the  teacher.  Many  things  must  be  told.  It 
would  be  folly  to  waste  valuable  time  insisting  upon 
children  rinding  out  things  that  are  really  beyond 
their  powers  of  discovery,  e.g.,  the  pronunciation 
of  words  during  a  class  lesson,  or  historical  facts  in 
a  new  history  lesson. 

But  many  things  can  be  discovered,  particularly 
those  connected  with  the  sciences.  This  effort  at 
discovery  develops  the  power  of  initiative  ;  it  culti- 
vates inventiveness  and  strengthens  the  powers  of 
perseverance  and  endurance — qualities  which  are 
of  vital  importance  in  the  formation  of  sterling  char- 
acter. It  is  a  good  rule,  which,  of  course,  has  its 
exceptions,  not  to  tell  children  anything  that  with 
a  little  trouble  and  effort  they  can  find  out  for  them- 
selves. Acquirements  which  cost  us  something  are 
valued  most.  It  is  only  by  effort  and  struggle 
and  persistence  that  our  highest  self  can  be  fully 
developed. 

Skill  in  asking  questions  is  almost  as 
?"es  important  to  the  teacher  as  to  the  K.C. 

Some  teachers  use  questions  only  for 
examination  purposes,  but  their  most  important 
use  is  for  teaching  purposes.  Suitable  questions 
lead  children  to  see  that  they  must  exert  themselves, 
and  that  the  lesson  is  theirs  rather  than  the  teacher's. 
They  help  the  pupils  to  acquire  additional  know- 
ledge through  the  knowledge  they  already  possess. 
Good  questions  are  like  sign-posts,  indicating  the 


GENERAL    NOTES.  21 

direction  in  which  the  child  must  make  effort  in 
order  to  acquire  further  knowledge. 

The  teacher  must  always  frame  his  questions  to 
suit  the  capacity  of  the  children  ;  the  younger  the 
children,  the  more  pointed  the  questions  must  be  ; 
but  they  should  never  be  too  vague  in  any  class. 
Questions  that  admit  of  a  variety  of  answers,  all 
more  or  less  correct,  waste  the  time  of  the  class  and 
lead  to  confusion  of  thought. 

Avoid  putting  suggestive  questions  at  the  end 
of  a  statement ;  e.g.,  "  The  Thames  rises  in  the 
Cots  wold  Hills,  doesn't  it  ?  "  Avoid  also  questions 
on  facts  unknown  to  the  children  and  which  admit 
of  guessing  only.  Elliptical  questions  should  be 
very  rarely  used ;  e.g.,  "  Ben  Nevis  is  the  highest 
mountain  in  -  —  (Great  Britain)."  They  are  of 
little  or  no  value.  It  is  much  better  for  the  child 
to  be  asked  to  make  the  complete  statement.  Ques- 
tions properly  used  will  lead  the  children  to  acquire 
ideas  by  observation,  comparison,  reason,  and  judg- 
ment ;  and  they  will  be  far  more  firmly  fixed  in  their 
minds  than  those  acquired  by  mere  '  telling.' 

Every  observer  knows  how  strong  the 
ine  dramatic  instinct  is  in  children ;  and 

teachers  know  that  it  can  be  made  very 
useful  in  many  school  subjects.  History  lends  itself 
constantly  to  this  instinct.  Children  love  to  pre- 
tend :  they  delight  to  impersonate  King  John, 
Hubert,  Arthur,  Eobin  Hood,  Wat  Tyler,  Boadicea, 
and  Queen  Elizabeth.  They  should,  however,  be  well 
acquainted  with  the  particular  story  they  propose  to 
dramatize,  and  then  act  it  under  the  guidance  of 
the  teacher ;  and,  as  far  as  possible,  they  should  use 


22  MODERN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

their  own  language,  not  that  of  a  dramatized  reader 
made  for  the  purpose.  It  is  sheer  waste  of  time 
allowing  children  to  memorize  a  large  number  of 
lines  merely  for  the  sake  of  producing  a  '  show ' 
piece.  Let  them  clothe  their  ideas  in  their  own 
words  ;  it  will  train  them  in  expressing  their  thoughts 
more  readily  and  accurately. 

Fairy  tales,  too,  and  certain  poems  may  often 
be  acted.  But  we  must  beware  of  overdoing  the 
dramatic  side  and  applying  it  to  everything.  Keep 
it  in  its  proper  place,  and  it  can  be  made  useful  and 
interesting. 

This  is  a  word  which  has  been  much  used 
and  much  abused.  Taken  in  a  proper 
way  correlation  is  of  great  value.  Many 
school  subjects  are  very  closely  related,  e.g.,  geo- 
graphy, history,  and  literature  ;  science  and  mathe- 
matics ;  drawing  and  handwork ;  and  the  wise 
teacher  will  select  points  from  one  that  will  greatly 
assist  in  comprehending  the  other.  At  the  same 
time,  if  he  is  teaching  geography,  that  must  be  the 
main  line  of  his  lesson  ;  history  and  literature  will 
be  subsidiary  lines.  If  his  lesson  is  a  literature 
lesson,  literature  must  be  its  main  theme  ;  history, 
geography,  and  drawing  will  be  accessories.  If  a 
teacher  is  giving  a  literature  lesson  on  David 
Copperfield,  and  reference  is  made  to  Mr.  Dick  and 
King  Charles's  head,  he  would  be  abusing  correlation 
to  spend  the  greater  part  of  the  lesson  in  talking 
about  King  Charles  and  the  events  that  led  up  to 
his  overthrow  and  execution. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  older  children  are 
reading  and  studying  the  play  of  '  Julius  Caesar/  it 


GENERAL    NOTES.  23 

will  be  a  great  help  to  have  a  map  of  Italy  before 
the  class,  as  also  a  large  plan  of  Rome  on  the 
blackboard  showing  the  places  mentioned  in  the 
play;  this  plan  may  afterwards  be  copied  by  the 
children  into  their  note  books.  A  brief  sketch  of  the 
life  of  Caesar  will  add  interest  to  the  lesson,  and  so 
will  an  examination  of  Roman  coins  or  pottery. 
The  children  may  also  be  allowed  in  the  handicraft 
lesson  to  make  a  clay  model  of  the  Forum.  In  this 
way,  correlation  may  be  of  great  value  in  producing 
permanent  impressions  and  lasting  knowledge. 

The  old  psychologists  believed  in  the 
Training  training  of  '  faculties  ' ;  the  Herbartian 
psychologists  of  to-day  severely  condemn 
it.  They  argue  that  a  mathematical  training  does 
not  produce  a  mental  quality  capable  of  unravelling 
a  knotty  business  problem,  or  a  criminal  mystery ; 
and  that  the  ability  to  do  neat  and  clean  book-work 
does  not  carry  with  it  a  habit  of  cleanness  in  person 
and  neatness  in  dress. 

There  is  a  large  measure  of  truth  in  this  position  ; 
but  the  theory  does  not  always  hold  good.  The 
senses  are  certainly  improved  by  special  training.  A 
course  of  formal  training  in  music  gives  the  ear  a  fine 
sensitiveness  to  tone  and  pitch ;  a  special  training 
in  art  improves  the  power  of  the  eye  and  cultivates 
a  finer  taste  for  form  and  colour  in  all  directions  ; 
and  there  is  evidence  that  training  children  to  observe 
in  school  lessons  makes  them  more  observant  of 
everyday  things. 

Wherever  in  practice  we  find  that  certain  educa- 
tional principles  produce  the  desired  results,  we  must 
not  lightly  throw  them  aside. 


24  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

The  teacher's  aim  with  regard  to  school 
Teacher's  wor^  should  be  to  see  that  it  bears  a  close 
Aim.  relation  to  the  child's  after-school  life. 

Subjects  that  are  incapable  of  further 
expansion  when  school  days  are  over  ought  to  be 
omitted  from  the  curriculum  altogether.  //What  the 
child  learns  in  school  should  help  him /to  have  an 
intelligent  interest  in  his  environment.  It  should 
lead  him  to  take  care  of  his  health,  and  to  attend  to 
the  physical  well-being  of  his  whole  body  ;  it  should 
cause  him  to  recognize  the  value  of  time  and  money, 
and  help  him  to  use  them  to  the  best  advantage  both 
for  himself  and  for  others  ;  it  should  give  him  the 
power  to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances,  and  make 
him  thoughtful  and  self-reliant ;  it  should  teach  him 
to  be  a  doer  and  not  merely  a  receiver  in  the  economy 
of  life.  In  fact,  the  teacher's  aim  should  be  to  train 
his  pupils  to  be  real  workers,  and  to  develop  in  them 
all  the  characteristics  that  go  towards  making  honour- 
able and  worthy  citizens. 

And  this  advice  is  as  necessary  for  the 
Ev,01  teacher  as  for  those  in  other  walks  of  life. 

Some  extreme  theorists  say  that  children 
should  be  taught  chieflv  those  things  thev  do  not 

O  *-'  %/ 

wish  to  be  taught.  They  ought  to  be  trained  from 
their  earliest  years  to  do  necessary  though  distaste- 
ful work,  such  as  has  to  be  clone  at  times  in 
ordinary  life  by  everybody,  and  even  for  a  livelihood 
by  some.  Only  in  this  way,  they  tell  us,  can 
education  be  true  to  life.  Others  say  the  child 
should  be  taught  only  those  subjects  he  is  fond  of, 
and  should  for  the  most  part  be  allowed  to  do  as  he 
likes ;  this  they  call "  self -realization."  Both  extremes 


GENERAL   NOTES.  25 

are  wrong.  The  former  advocates  apparently  think 
it  is  dangerous  to  make  school  a  happy  place,  for 
in  such  an  atmosphere  there  would  be  produced  only 
slackers  and  snobs;  the  latter  are  of  opinion  that 
school  should  be  heaven  all  the  time — that  is,  for 
the  child. 

Deliberately  to  choose  for  children  difficult  and 
disagreeable  tasks,  simply  because  they  are  difficult 
and  disagreeable,  in  a  word,  to  deify  drudgery  as 
drudgery,  is  too  foolish  and  ridiculous  to  talk  about. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  make  the  child  the  only  judge 
of  what  he  should  be  taught,  as  though  he  knew  what 
was  best  for  him — a  knowledge  that  only  comes  to  . 
any  of  us  through  training  and  experience — is  almost 
equally  foolish,  and  harmful.  A  child  likes  to  stay 
up  late  at  'night,  he  likes  to  eat  too  much  pastry,  and 
too  many  sweetmeats,  and  he  is  fond  of  playing 
with  fire  ;  but  these  things  may  be  very  injurious 
to  him.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  valuable  things 
which  many  children  would  avoid  if  they  could  ; 
such  things  as  personal  cleanliness,  helping  others, 
and  taking  part  in  certain  physical  exercises  and 
sports,  which  are  unquestionably  beneficial  to  them. 

The  medium  between  these  extremes  is  the  proper 
course.  There  are  undesirable  elements  in  the  nature 
of  nearly  every  child  that  must  be  repressed,  and  ,, 
there  are  desirable  ones  that  should  be  cultivated. 
If  school  is  to  be  a  preparation  for  life,  children  must 
at  times  be  called  upon  to  do  things  they  would 
rather  not  do.  In  some  directions  they  must  be 
trained  in  self-repression,  and  in  others  in  self-realiza-  \S 
tion.  Children  often  dislike  a  subject  when  one 
teacher  takes  it,  and  they  like  it  when  another  takes 
it ;  lack  of  interest  in  a  subject  is  not  always  the 


26  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

child's  fault.  As  far  as  is  possible  school  should  be 
made  an  attractive  place,  and  a  happy  activity  should 
be  its  prevailing  characteristic. 

Every  observer  knows  that  teachers  differ 

P16  as  much  as  children  ;    and  occasion  allv 

Successful      ,1        Tft  IT 

and  the  difference     is     very     marked.      One 

Unsuccess-  teacher  seems  to  make  such  a  labour  of 
ful Teacher,  his  work;  he  is  frequently  'breathing  out 
threatenings  and  slaughter '  against  delin- 
quents ;  he  spends  so  much  time  in  lecturing  them  in 
strident  tones,  that  all  his  energy  apparently  escapes 
through  his  mouth.  With  no  humour,  and  little,  if 
any,  sympathy,  he  works  like  a  machine  often  out  of 
gear.  The  result  is  seen  in  his  pupils  ;  many  of 
them  are  sullen,  obstinate,  dull,  and  miserable. 

The  teacher  in  the  next  room  is  quite  different. 
His  work  seems  easy  enough  ;  he  talks  quietly  and 
naturally  to  the  children,  has  his  joke  when  occasion 
offers,  and  the  children  enjoy  a  good  hearty  laugh. 
At  the  same  time  they  know  that  if  any  one  of  them 
shirks  or  does  not  '  act  square  '  he  will  soon  be  in 
'  durance  vile.'  The  result  here  is  also  seen  in  the 
pupils  ;  they  are  willing,  obedient,  industrious,  and 
happy. 

Most  of  this  difference  is  due  to  personality  ;  but 
if  the  matter  be  taken  in  time,  no  teacher  need  be 
like  the  first  example,  and  every  teacher  may  become 
very  much  like  the  second. 

Voice  control  is  of  great  importance.  If 
of  "he  a  teacner  nas  IOB^  control,  as  may  be  the 

Voice.  case  when  one  has  been  teaching  for 

several  years  in  a  large  room  occupied 


GENERAL    NOTES.  27 

by  three  or  four  different  classes,  and  there  has  been 
a  daily  competition  among  the  teachers  as  to  which 
could  best  make  himself  heard  above  the  others,  it 
is  hard  to  reform  ;  it  is  as  difficult  to  regain  control 
of  the  voice  as  it  is  for  a  leopard  to  change  its 
spots. 

"  Oh  !  how  that  teacher's  tongue  wags  !  "  said 
a  Government  Inspector  to  me  some  years  ago. 
"  When  I  hear  a  teacher  talking  on  like  a  gramo- 
phone with  a  big  horn,  I  usually  go  into  the  class- 

j_  •>  */       f 

room  and  say  to  her  :  '  Would  you  mind  allowing 
the  children  to  talk  a  little,  Miss,  just  to  rest  your 
voice  ?  '  " 

Of  course  that  was  very  cutting,  but,  in  some  cases, 
such  reproofs  are  deserved.  Information  flies  out 
in  a  ceaseless  torrent,  but  it  rarely  hits  anybody. 

One  of  George  Eliot's  characters  says  : — 

"  Some  folks'  tongues  are  like  the  clocks  that 

keep  on  striking,  not  to  tell  you  the  time  of  day, 

but    because    there's    summat    wrong    in    their 

inside." 

If  the  teacher  speaks  quietly,  the  children  will 
become  eager  to  listen  ;  it  is  their  business  to  listen, 
not  the  teacher's  to  make  them  hear.  If  a  quiet  tone 
be  the  rule,  then  it  will  be  possible  to  pull  up  any 
playful  urchin,  or  wandering  mind,  in  a  moment.  If 
the  top  note  is  always  in  use,  it  has  no  effect  on  a 
special  occasion  ;  for  the  saying  :— "  A  noisy  teacher 
makes  a  noisy  class,"  is  as  true  as  it  is  ancient.  How 
much  better  it  is  to  follow  Shakespeare's  advice 
when  he  says  :— 

"  When    words    are    scarce,    they're    seldom 

spent  in  vain." 


28  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

Herbert    Spencer    savs  :  —  "  The    aim    of 

*" 


o      i  1*1  1  o 

Disciplin-      discipline   should   be   to   produce   a   self- 
arian.  governing  being." 

A.  C.  Benson  says  :  —  "  The  power  of 
maintaining  discipline  is  the  unum  necessarium,  for 
a  teacher  ;  if  he  has  not  got  it  and  cannot  acquire 
e  had  better  sweep  a  crossing." 

The  true  disciplinarian  avoids  extremes  and 
inds  the  happy  medium.  One  kind  of  disciplinarian 
is  the  forceful  man,  or  masculine  woman,  who  believes 
in,  and  carries  out,  the  old  proverb  of  "  Spare  the 
rod  and  spoil  the  child."  This  type  secures  order 
by  a  rule  of  iron,  and  a  regime  of  repression.  He 
compels  obedience  ;  he  never  imbues  the  children 
with  a  desire  to  respond.  He  plays  his  part  like  the 
drill-sergeant  ;  he  never  wins  willing  co-operation. 
The  result  is  seen  in  the  wooden,  stereotyped, 
mechanical,  self  -same  way  in  which  the  children  do 
their  work  and  deport  themselves. 

The  other  extreme  is  where  children  are  allowed 
to  do  very  much  as  they  like  ;  where  '  free  discipline  ' 
runs  riot,  and  the  school  or  class  becomes  a  bear- 
garden. The  result  of  this  is  seen  in  the  absence  of 
the  power  of  concentration,  the  distaste  for  certain 
kinds  of  necessary  work,  and  the  lack  of  self-control 
and  staying  power. 

One  extreme  is  as  bad  as  the  other  ;  the  true 
disciplinarian  avoids  both.  He  is  one  who  believes 
in  the  eternal  truth  of  Tennyson's  lines  :  — 

"  Self-reverence,  self-knowledge,  self-control, 
These  three  alone  lead  life  to  sovereign  power." 

To  train  children  to  acquire  possession  of  these 
three  great  powers  is  the  most  impoitant  work  we 
have  to  do.  To  accomplish  it  there  must  be  a  careful 


GENERAL   NOTES.  29 

and  constant  study  of  each  child  in  our  charge.     We 
must  aim  at  moulding  their  desires  and  tastes,  and ' 
influencing  their  will,  so  that  it  will  alwavs  act  in  the 

o  •*  *> 

right  way  and  at  the  right  time  ;    conduct  will  then 
be  governed  from  within  rather  than  from  without. 

This  is  the  work  of  the  true  disciplinarian ;  it 
means  infinite  patience,  constant  effort,  and  bound- 
less sympathy;  but  he  will  be  amply  repaid  by  the 
results. 

The  teacher  who  knows  how  to  use  his 
of  lhe°W  eyes  Curing  class  teaching  will  often  save 
Eyes.  his  voice.  If  he  is  alert  and  observant, 

every  child  in  the  class  will  feel  that  the 
teacher  is  always  looking  at  him,  and  will  realize 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  be  idle,  inattentive,  or  play- 
ful, without  being  seen.  Nothing  should  happen  in 
the  class  without  the  teacher  knowing  it.  Children 
should  learn  from  experience  that  wrong-doing  of  any 
kind  is  sure  to  be  seen  or  found  out  by  the  teacher. 
The  use  of  the  eyes  in  this  way  will  be  found  far  more 
valuable  than  using  the  voice  to  pull  up  a  delinquent 
in  the  middle  of  a  statement  or  narrative — a  pro- 
ceeding that  breaks  the  thread  of  thought  and  often 
distracts  the  attention  of  the  whole  class. 

The  teacher's  eyes  should  be  able  to  tell  from 
the  eyes  of  his  pupils  whether  they  are  following  his 
teaching  thoughtfully.  Many  children  are  apparently 
attentive ;  they  sit  quite  still  and  look  straight 
before  them  ;  but  a  glance  at  their  eyes  will  tell  the 
observant  teacher  that  their  thoughts  are  far  away, 
and  that  they  come  back  to  the  world  of  reality  only 
now  and  again,  and  just  catch  one  or  two  disconnected 
ideas  of  the  lesson  that  is  being  given.  No  lesson 
can  be  considered  a  success  unless  it  is  being  grasped 


30  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

by  most  of  the  children  in  the  class  ;  and  the  teacher 
can  usually  gauge  the  effect  his  lesson  is  having  if 
he  watches  the  eyes  of  the  children. 

Again,  eyes  should  be  trained  to  see  if  there  is 
anything  marring  the  general  appearance  of  the 
school  or  classroom.  What  a  contrast  the  visitor 
sees  in  the  tidiness  or  untidiness  of  various  rooms 
and  schools  !  In  the  one  case  his  eye  sees  at  a  glance 
that  the  teacher  has  heard  of  the  proverb  which 
says  : — "  A  place  for  everything,  and  everything  in 
its  place."  The  room  is  clean  and  orderly,  pictures 
and  plants,  models  and  specimens,  are  nicely  arranged 
and  pleasing  to  the  eye,  and  the  children  are  trained 
to  help  in  keeping  them  so.  In  another  case  the 
visitor  sees  rubbish  in  corners,  books  and  papers 
lying  about  on  cupboards,  scraps  of  used  paper 
on  the  floor,  maps  ragged,  pictures  awry,  desks 
out  of  place,  and  cupboard  doors  open  showing  the 
interior  in  a  state  of  chaos.  Many  of  the  children 
in  such  a  class  often  correspond  to  their  environ- 
ment ;  torn  clothing,  dirty  faces,  and  uncombed 
hair  are  very  much  in  evidence. 

These  are  the  things  that  show  the  difference 
between  the  observant  and  the  unobservant  teacher  ; 
and  often  between  the  enthusiastic,  hard-working 
teacher,  and  the  lazy,  indifferent  teacher. 

Everybody  agrees  that  in  our  schools 
ofThe  y  during  the  past  decade  there  has  been  a 
Right  Sort,  remarkable  growth  of  sympathy  for  chil- 
dren and  a  wise  consideration  of  child 
life.  This  is  all  to  the  good.  The  point  that  needs 
watching  is  that  this  sympathy  does  not  produce  a 
sickly  sentimentality  that  allows  the  child  to  do  as 


GENERAL    NOTES.  31 

he  likes  under  the  guise  of  self-realization.  On  one 
side  of  human  nature  self-realization  ought  to 
become  self -repression,  or  there  is  trouble  in  store. 

Moreover,  no  child  respects  a  teacher  or  parent 
who  always  lets  him  have  his  own  way.  The  teacher 
may  be  loving,  and  kindly,  and  'easiful,'  and  perhaps 
demonstrative  ;  but  the  normal  child  has  far  more 
regard  for  the  teacher  who  is  just  and  strong, 
and  demands  the  highest  effort.  Of  course,  there 
must  be  sympathy  and  approval  and  encourage- 
ment when  children  are  doing  their  best,  even  though 
they  may  not  succeed  in  achieving  their  aim.  But 
there  must  also  be  blame  and  severity  for  the  sloven 
and  the  slacker.  Honeyed  words  and  ready  forgive- 
ness for  all  offences  are  fatal  to  true  discipline,  and 
work  moral  injury  to  the  child. 

There  is  a  real  danger  in  these  days  of 
Primrose  ^e  swm§  °^  ^he  pendulum  going  too  far 
Way.  "  m  the  direction  of  serving  up  all  school 
subjects  in  such  appetizing,  dainty 
fashion,  that  the  pupil  sucks  them  in  without  effort 
like  milk  from  a  feeding  bottle.  Tables  without  tears, 
history  without  dates,  music  without  scales,  are  all 
the  rage,  and  if  carried  too  far  are  calculated  to 
produce  a  flabby,  invertebrate  generation. 

No  real  teacher  would  ever  value  a  task  merely 
because  it  is  hard,  or  reject  a  short  easy  method  in 
favour  of  a  longer  or  more  difficult  one.  But  any 
teacher  who  aims  at  removing  every  difficulty  from 
the  path  of  the  young  learner  is  doing  him  moral 
injury.  It  is  only  by  overcoming  difficulties  that 
any  of  us  gain  strength  to  overcome  others  ;  and  it 
is  only  by  working  against  certain  natural  resistances 


32  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

that  children  become  strong.  If  education  in  school 
is  to  prepare  the  child  for  its  life  after  school,  it  must 
not  be  swept  clean  of  its  obstacles.  A  child  who 
does  not  begin  his  mental  discipline  until  he  leaves 
school  is  in  for  a  bad  time.  We  must  never  take  the 
sting  out  of  things  by  giving  too  much  help,  or  by 
using  too  much  camouflage. 

A  good  deal  of  the  joy  of  school  life  and  of  ordinary 
life  arises  from  the  knowledge  of  difficulties  con- 
quered, and  of  hard  tasks  accomplished.  To  a 
normal,  healthy  child,  work  that  is  always  smooth 
and  easy  becomes  monotonous  and  uninteresting. 
He  dislikes  being  fed  with  a  spoon;  he  longs  for  the 
sweets  of  victory.  Children  must  be  led  to  do  things 
in  a  spirit  of  obedience  and  faith,  even  to  do  things 
they  would  rather  not  do,  things  that  mean  a  certain 
amount  of  self-sacrifice  and  cost  considerable  effort ; 
because  only  in  this  way  can  they  increase  in  intel- 
lectual growth  and  moral  power.  Of  course,  lessons 
should  be  made  as  interesting  as  possible ;  but  that 
does  not  mean  to  say  that  all  the  knots  should  be 
ironed  out  flat. 

Nor  should  children  be  allowed  to  do  what  sub- 
jects they  please,  when  they  please,  and  how  they 
please,  under  the  conjuring  term  of  self-realization. 
A  great  deal  of  talk  along  this  line  is  sentimental 
nonsense.  Moreover,  the  self-realization  preached 
by  certain  would-be  reformers  is  simply  unbridled 
licence.  It  never  has  been  and  never  will  be  good 
for  children  to  do  as  they  like.  They  are  no  more 
competent  to  be  the  judges  of  school  subjects  and 
school  methods  than  they  are  of  the  values  of  various 
foodstuffs.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  children  to  have 
to  do  some  things  at  certain  times  simply  because 


GENERAL   NOTES.  33 

they  do  not  want  to  do  them.  All  such  require- 
ments have  real  disciplinary  value,  and  aid  very 
materially  in  making  adequate  preparation  for  their 
life  in  the  industrial  and  social  spheres  of  the  future. 

The  '  humanities  '  in  easy  form  should  be 
Litterae  a  par^  of  faQ  educational  work  of  every 
ores*  school.  The  cruel  episodes  of  the  Great 

War  have  emphasized  their  value.  With- 
out their  '  softening  '  influence  education  may  become 
a  danger  instead  of  a  blessing  ;  sharpened  wits  may 
be  put  to  criminal  uses  instead  of  to  the  service  of 
the  community.  Consideration  for  the  rights  and 
feelings  of  other  people,  and  the  humane  treatment 
of  dumb  creatures  are  matters  that  should  be  im- 
pressed on  the  minds  of  children  at  a  very  early  age. 

With  young  children  this  can  best  be  done  by 
telling  interesting  stories  of  people  and  animals  in 
such  a  way  that  the  lesson  is  learnt  without  any 
pointing  of  a  moral.  "  Ulysses  "  is  the  world's  best 
fairy  tale,  and  it  is  only  by  giving  children  an  abund- 
ance of  such  fairy  tales  during  their  tender  years 
that  their  humanizing  influences  can  have  effect. 
With  the  older  children  history  and  literature  will 
be  the  usual  media  ;  history,  as  a  record  of  the 
objective  life  of  a  people,  and  literature,  as  a  record 
of  its  subjective  or  thought  life. 

In  these  days  of  story  books  do  not  let  us  lose 
sight  of  the  fact  that  the  Bible  is  a  veritable  store- 
house of  stories  suitable  for  teaching  the  '  humanities.' 
Whether  the  stories  are  history  or  parable  need  not 
be  considered  for  a  moment ;  the  lesson  is  there  all 
the  same.  Something  can  be  learnt  from  Abraham, 
Moses,  David  and  Saul,  and  something  from  the 


34  MODEKN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

Parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  Such  lessons  will 
expand  the  children's  ideas  in  the  right  direction, 
and  mercy  will  increasingly  tend  to  supplant  cruelty. 

Teachers  have  not  infrequently  been 
Teacher's  lauded  by  statesmen  and  others  as  the 
Chief  Work,  moulders  of  the  future  generations  of 
citizens  of  this  great  empire  ;  and  although 
to  the  thoughtless  outsider  the  eulogy  may  appear 
to  be  very  extravagant,  to  those  with  an  inside 
knowledge  the  truth  of  the  laudation  is  clear.  A 
child  is  God's  greatest  gift  to  its  parents  ;  and  a 
child  properly  trained,  and  with  its  nobler  innate 
qualities  fully  developed,  is  God's  greatest  gift  to 
a  nation,  and  thence  to  all  mankind. 

The  home  is  the  child's  first  school ;  at  the  age 
of  five  or  six  he  passes  from  the  parental  roof  into 
the  larger  world  of  public  school,  and  thence  into 
the  still  larger  world  of  men.  The  teacher's  chief 
work  is  to  fit  the  child  to  take  a  worthy  place 
in  the  larger  world  of  men  ;  and  he  must  keep  that 
aim  in  view  all  through  the  child's  school  career. 

For  some  subtle  reason  the  teacher  has  often 
failed  to  estimate  the  capacity  and  gauge  the  future 
possibilities  of  certain  children  who  have  been  in  his 
charge.  How  many  men  who  have  made  their  mark 
on  the  history  of  their  country,  or  have  succeeded 
in  the  scientific  and  literary  world,  were  regarded  as 
failures  in  their  school  life  !  This  may  be  due  in 
some  cases  to  later  development,  but  in  a  far  larger 
number  it  is  due  to  measuring  them  by  a  wrong 
standard. 

Teachers  must  ever  bear  in  mind  that  every  child 
is  a  separate  and  distinct  soul,  and  that  he  may 


GENERAL   NOTES.  35 

possess  gifts  capable  of  indefinite  expansion,  if  he 
is  allowed  to  express  the  best  that  is  in  him,  and  in 
that  way  to  develop  it.  It  is  only  by  giving  oppor- 
tunities for  self-expression,  and  guidance  in  its 
operations,  that  we  can  hope  to  ensure  human  growth 
and  consequent  progress.  Cast-iron  discipline,  and 
repression  in  its  various  forms,  crush  all  desire  for 
self-expression  and  all  attempts  at  self -revelation ; 
they  mould  the  individual  according  to  one  set 
pattern,  and  train  him  to  walk  in  one  particular 
rut,  both  of  which  conditions  are  fatal  to  the 
production  of  creative  ability  or  of  spontaneous 
effort.  The  teacher  must  in  a  very  large  measure 
'  give  the  child  its  head  ' ;  he  must  encourage  every 
form  of  original  expression,  he  must  let  the  child 
feel  that  he  is  free  to  experiment,  he  must  aim  at 
helping  him  to  cultivate  the  very  best  that  is  in  him,' 
and  then  the  future  years  will  never  find  him  among 
the  '  submerged  tenth.'  nor  in  the  slum  or  in  the 
common  doss-house. 

Let  us  embrace  our  opportunities  and  thank  God 
that  they  have  fallen  to  our  lot. 

_  The    saying.    "  Example    is    better   than 

Teacher's  precept,"  is  of  more  importance  in  an  ele- 
Example.  mentary  school  than  in  a  training  college. 
One  chief  work  of  the  school  is  to  aid  in 
the  formation  of  good  habits,  and  to  prevent  the 
acquirement  of  bad  habits  ;  to  make  good  conduct 
natural  and  easy,  and  to  make  bad  conduct  un- 
attractive and  distasteful. 

The  imitative  instinct  in  children  is  so  strong  that 
they  follow  in  the  teacher's  footsteps  often  un- 
consciously ;  for  that  reason  the  general  behaviour 


36  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

and  bearing  of  the  teacher  will  weigh  very  heavily 
in  the  formation  of  the  child's  character.  If  the 
teacher  is  patient,  self -controlled,  kind,  and  strictly 
just,  the  same  characteristics  will  be  evident  in  the 
conduct  of  the  children.  If  he  is  punctual,  neat  in 
person,  insists  upon  tidy  cupboards  and  a  tidy  room ; 
if  he  is  respectful  and  gentlemanly  in  speech  and 
manner,  and  truthful  in  word  and  deed,  any  moral 
lessons  he  may  give  will  have  full  effect  upon  his 
pupils,  because  they  will  see  that  he  exemplifies  the 
good  points  himself,  and  they  will  have  concrete 
evidence  of  their  value. 

This  is  a  very  important  element  in  the 
life  of  any  school.  Many  factors  enter 
into  it — good  manners,  proper  language,  truthful- 
ness, honesty,  purity,  honour,  and  consideration  for 
others.  The  teacher  must  aim  at  cultivating  all 
these  qualities  in  his  pupils  in  such  a  way  that  the 
blush  of  shame  will  invariably  follow  any  mean  act, 
just  as  a  look  of  satisfaction  and  a  feeling  of  delight 
will  accompany  any  kindly  deed. 

Children  should  ever  be  encouraged  to  co-operate 
rather  than  to  compete.  The  giving  of  marks  or 
checks  for  work  done,  no  matter  how  carefully 
managed,  aids  the  growth  of  selfishness,  and  not 
seldom  leads  to  conduct  that  is  really  immoral. 
How  much  better  is  it  to  encourage  a  child  to  help 
another  over  a  difficulty  rather  than  keep  him  in  the 
dark  because  of  '  marks '  !  Marks  for  general 
conduct  are  not  open  to  the  same  objection,  and 
are  often  a  valuable  aid  to  discipline. 

Children  must  be  led  to  behave  in  a  generous, 
kindly,  helpful,  sympathetic  manner  towards  their 


GENERAL   NOTES.  37 

brothers  and  sisters  and  playmates,  and  even  towards 
strangers  ;  and  they  must  be  ready  to  work  and 
even  to  suffer  for  the  good  name  of  the  school.  A 
boy  or  girl  in  whom  has  been  cultivated  a  true  sense 
of  honour  is  an  educational  product  of  which  any 
teacher  may  be  proud. 

There  are  educationists  who  would  have 
Rewards  one  ]-,]g  <  drive,'  and  sweep  away  rewards 
Punish-  an(^  punishments  of  every  kind  and  form. 
ments.  They  would  abolish  school  prizes  of  every 
sort,  on  the  ground  that  even  little  chil- 
dren can  be  taught  to  do  what  they  have  to  do  from 
a  sense  of  duty,  and  not  because  they  expect  some 
material  reward  for  it.  There  are  others  who  would 
abolish  corporal  punishment  of  every  kind  as  being 
degrading,  and  dragging  the  culprit  deeper  into  the 
mire.  But  these  are  the  opinions  of  theorists,  and 
not  the  facts  that  face  practical  teachers. 

Rewards  and  punishments  play  their  part  in  the 
lives  of  every  one  of  us.  Most  people  strive  for  a 
higher  place  in  the  world  because  of  the  reward  it 
brings  to  them,  or  the  benefit  to  those  who  are  near 
and  dear  to  them.  And  again,  there  can  be  no 
civilized  government  anywhere  unless  those  in 
authority  have  the  power  to  punish  the  people  who 
break  the  laws.  Nature  herself  deals  kindly  with 
those  who  keep  her  laws,  and  punishes  unfailingly 
those  who  violate  them. 

Grown-up  people  hope  for  rewards  of  one  kind  or 
another  as  a  result  of  their  labours,  and  they  are 
frequently  kept  from  doing  certain  things  by  fear  of 
the  consequences.  Why.  then,  should  we  expect 
little  children,  whose  characters  are  only  in  process 

47666 


38  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

of  formation,  and  who  cannot  grasp  the  idea  that 
certain  things  should  be  done  because  it  is  right  to 
do  them,  and  certain  others  should  be  avoided  because 
it  is  wrong  to  do  them — why  should  we  expect  them 
to  do  their  duty  in  school  without  hope  of  reward  or 
fear  of  punishment? 

No  sane  teacher  would  advocate  the  giving  of  a 
reward  for  every  little  effort,  not  even  in  the  form  of 
marks  ;  nor  would  he  agree  that  the  prizes  should 
always  be  carried  off  by  the  children  with  more 
than  average  ability,  or  by  those  who  are  healthy 
and  strong,  and  so  are  in  regular  and  punctual  attend- 
ance all  the  year  round  ;  but  he  would  in  some  way 
reward  effort  and  progress  in  whatever  direction  it 
be  shown. 

On  the  other  hand,  neither  would  he  advocate  the 
giving  of  punishment  of  some  kind  for  every  little 
slip  or  delinquency.  Only  a  brute  would  punish  a 
child  for  what  it  cannot  avoid,  either  through  the 
faults  of  its  parents,  or  on  account  of  some  physical 
or  mental  defect.  Punishment  should  aiin  at  the 
reform  of  the  offender,  and  at  being  a  warning  to 
others  ;  if  it  is  in  the  least  vindictive,  it  is  worse 
than  useless. 

Children  must  be  taught  to  do  what  is  right  and 
to  avoid  what  is  wrong  without  always  knowing  the 
'  why '  and  the  '  wherefore.'  They  must  be  trained 
'to  acquire  the  power  of  controlling  those  natural 
impulses  which  would  lead  them  to  do  things  they 
ought  not  to  do  ;  and  they  must  be  led  to  see  that 
right-doing  carries  with  it  a  worthy  reward  of  some 
kind,  just  as  wrong-doing  receives  inevitable  punish- 
ment. 


GENERAL   NOTES.  39 

Do  not  expect  children  to  be  perfect  in 
Children        their  moral  conduct.     There  are  certain 
MoraHv         ev^   tendencies    that    are    inborn    in    all  ^ 
Perfect.         children,    which,    if    not    carefully    dealt 

with,  result  in  evil  actions.  A  young 
child  has  little  notion  of  property  rights  ;  he  will 
frequently  appropriate  anything  within  his  reach 
that  he  takes  a  fancy  to—  an  act  which,  in  his  case, 
can  in  no  sense  be  looked  upon  as  stealing.  He  must 


be  taught  gradually  to  control  his  acquisitive  impulses, 
and  then  they  will  be  of  great  value  to  him  in  the 
future  in  acquiring  right  and  proper  things. 

Of  course,  if  these  impulses  are  unrestrained, 
and  are  allowed  to  develop  abnormally,  they  will 
make  him  a  criminal.  Sympathy  and  patience  are 
required  by  the  teacher  and  by  the  parent.  It  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  power  of  controlling  one's 
natural  impulses  is  only  acquired  very  slowly,  and 
the  period  of  acquisition  varies  widely  in  different 
children.  Every  teacher  knows  that  a  small  per- 
centage of  children  seems  to  be  born  with  distinctly 
criminal  tendencies,  and  that  the  development  of 
these  tendencies  is  often  inevitable  owing  to  a  vicious 
environment.  These  ought  to  be  separated  from 
normal  children  and  dealt  with  specially,  the  chief 
aim  being  to  strengthen  the  power  of  self-control. 

.  .  This  must  be  done  in  the  child's  earliest 

iJaiw"n  vears  ;  and  one  of  the  first  exercises 
the  " 


., 

^ 


1111  11-  i         -IT 

should  be  to  teach  him  to   be  obedient. 

This  can  be  accomplished  kindly  and  gently  ;  then  the 
child  will  respond  to  external  authority  with  gradu- 
ally increasing  ease.  He  will  begin  to  realize  that 
what  he  is  required  to  do  is  for  his  own  good  as  well 


40  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

as  for  the  good  of  father  and  mother.  He  will  also 
begin  to  recognize  what  is  good  and  beneficial  in  the 
actions  of  others,  and  he  will  imitate  these  actions. 
In  this  way  he  will  learn  to  give  up  objects  he  desires, 
or  things  he  wants  to  do,  just  for  love  of  father  or 
mother,  sister  or  brother.  Later  on  he  will  learn  in 
his  games  to  do  the  same  towards  his  playmates  ; 
and  later  still  he  will  do  the  same  for  the  public  good. 

Every  encouragement  should  be  given  to  the 
child  to  act  rightly  ;  this  he  will  do  if  he  knows  that 
such  action  carries  with  it  the  approval  and  appreci- 
ation of  those  in  authority  over  him,  and  especially 
when  he  sees  that  they  themselves  are  always  careful 
to  do  what  is  right.  In  this  way  the  child's  will  is 
trained  and  strengthened,  and,  if  the  practice  be 
continued,  he  will  not  only  know  what  is  right,  but 
he  will  have  the  power  to  do  it. 

One  sometimes  wonders  how  many  of  the  children 
who  have  been  born  with  '  silver  spoons  '  in  their 
mouths  have  come  to  grief.  It  is  fairly  safe  to  say 
that  '  silver  spoons  '  have  choked  far  more  than  they 
have  fed.  Everything  has  been  made  so  smooth 
and  easy  and  comfortable  for  the  young  folk,  until 
the  obstacle  comes  that  cannot  be  flattened  out  by 
money  or  by  indulgent  parents,  and  then  the 
wreck  follows. 

Professor  Wm.  James  says  : — 

"  Each  one  of  us  ought  to  do  at  least  one 
thing  each  day  that  costs  an  effort ;  some- 
thing we  would  rather  not  do,  especially  in 
the  way  of  self-sacrifice." 

It  is  only  in  this  way  that  we  can  strengthen  the 
will,  and  ensure  moral  growth.  By  overcoming  little 
difficulties  we  gain  strength  to  overcome  greater  ones  ; 


GENERAL   NOTES.  41 

by  working  against  certain  resistances  we  grow 
strong.  We  develop  by  exercise — spiritually,  morally, 
mentally,  and  physically ;  we  degenerate  by  slackness 
and  neglect. 

We  must  remember  these  truths  in  our  work  as 
teachers.  It  is  our  business  to  strengthen  all  that 
is  worthy,  and  repress  all  that  is  unworthy,  in  those 
in  our  charge.  We  must  see  to  it  that  they  have 
plenty  of  opportunities  of  exercising  the  will,  of 
doing  things  which  are  necessary,  though  they  may 
not  always  be  to  their  taste.  We  should  never  take 
the  sting  out  of  things  by  too  much  preliminary 
instruction,  or  too  constant  help.  The  normal, 
healthy  child  likes  to  find  himself  up  against  a  diffi- 
culty ;  the  languid  and  the  lazy  like  to  be  spoon-fed. 
The  languid  ones  may  need  the  attention  of  the 
School  Medical  Officer ;  the  lazy  ones  must  be 
aroused  and  made  to  understand  that  life  is  a  real 
thing,  and  that  they  have  their  part  to  play  and 
must  fulfil  it. 

Of  course,  we  ought  not  to  set  tasks  that  are  too 
difficult ;  there  is  nothing  sacred  about  hard  work 
as  such.  There  are  plenty  of  real  obstacles  to  face 
without  our  creating  artificial  ones,  and  we  must 
let  our  pupils  play  their  part  against  them  before  we 
remove  them.  Every  lesson  should  demand  suit- 
able effort  on  the  part  of  the  child,  who  should  be 
trained  to  exercise  his  will  in  such  a  way  as  shall 
ensure  his  doing  whatever  has  to  be  done  in  a  thorough 
and  efficient  way. 

Moral  education  is  of  greater  importance 
Training:       than  either  physical  or  intellectual  educa- 
tion, and  so  the  teacher's  leading  aim  should 


42  MODERN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

be  the  formation  of  character.  Character  is  made 
by  conduct,  and  character  also  makes  conduct.  The 
influences  we  bring  to  bear  upon  the  children  in  our 
charge  make  either  for  good  or  for  evil,  and  aid  or 
retard  right  or  wrong  conduct.  These  influences 
are  in  operation  all  day  long  ;  not  merely  during 
some  particular  lesson,  but  in  all  lessons. 

One  of  the  chief  endowments  of  all  children  is 
the  power  of  imitation.  A  child  is  largely  an  imita- 
tive creature ;  sometimes  he  imitates  purposely,  at 
other  times  he  does  so  almost  without  knowing  it. 
He  will  pick  up  some  peculiarity  of  speech  or  walk, 
or  some  uncommon  mannerism,  with  the  utmost 
ease  ;  and  so  the  teacher  first,  and  class-mates  after- 
wards, are  sure  to  modify  a  child's  character  in  the 
direction  of  the  example  set.  And  let  us  remember 
that  they  imitate  what  we  do  more  than  what  we 
say ;  with  them  example  is  more  powerful  than 
precept. 

If  the  teacher  is  careful  always  to  put  before  his 
pupils  a  sound  example  in  all  things,  if  he  aims  at 
cultivating  noble  ideals,  and  uses  every  effort  to 
secure  a  high  moral  tone  in  the  class,  the  develop- 
ment of  sterling  character  is  almost  sure  to  follow. 
Almost,  but  not  quite,  because  the  child  himself  is 
a  factor  in  it ;  and  that  inborn  selfishness,  which,  if 
unchecked,  leads  to  lying  and  cheating,  and  later  on 
to  the  loss  of  all  the  higher  virtues,  must  always  be 
reckoned  with.  The  best  moral  teaching  finds  its 
true  basis  in  the  Christian  religion ;  and  other 
things  being  equal,  the  one  who  cultivates  a  genuine 
religious  life  will  always  be  the  most  successful  teacher 
of  morality. 


GENERAL    NOTES.  43 

The  cultivation  of  power  is  of  more  im- 
P°  h CT  ih       Portance  to  the  child  in  the  elementary    .X 
Knowled*"    scno°^  tnan  ^ne  acquisition  of  knowledge.^ 

Education  must  be  judged  according  to 
the  amount  of  self-control  and  self-direction  it 
develops  in  the  child.  One  of  the  greatest  mistakes 
some  teachers  make  is  that  of  depreciating  the  powers 
of  their  pupils.  "  This  is  the  worst  class  I  have  ever 
had  !  "  "I  never  saw  such  a  duffer  in  my  life  !  " 
"  Your  head  is  as  thick  as  a  doorstep  !  "  "  You 
know  nothing,  my  boy,  and  never  will !  "  Expres- 
sions like  these  may  relieve  the  teacher's  feelings,  but 
as  far  as  the  children  are  concerned  they  are  worse 
than  useless.  The  opposite  method  is  much  more 
effective.  The  teacher  must  lead  the  children  to  see 
that  in  most  things  "  where  there's  a  will  there's  a 
way,"  and  he  must  help  them  to  find  the  way. 

When  a  difficulty  has  to  be  overcome,  the  pupil 
must  not  be  allowed  to  come  to  the  immediate  con- 
clusion that  only  clever  boys  or  girls  can  do  that. 
He  must  be  induced  to  try ;  he  may  have  to  be 
helped  a  good  deal  at  first,  but  when  he  has  overcome 
obstacles  on  a  few  occasions,  he  will  need  less  help 
with  subsequent  ones.  In  time  he  will  begin  to  say, 
"  I  can  do  it,"  instead  of  "  I  can't  do  it,"  and  he  will 
gradually  feel  an  accession  of  power  that  will  be  a 
great  stimulus  to  success.  When  a  child  feels  that 
he  can  do  a  thing,  he  puts  his  heart  and  soul  into  it ; 
if  he  has  been  taught  to  doubt  his  capacity,  he  is  not- 
likely  to  accomplish  anything  worth  accomplishing. 
The  cultivation  of  a  strong  determination,  the  acquire- 
ment of  the  energy  needed  to  continue  tirelessly  the 
pursuit  of  a  noble  purpose,  is  power  of  supreme  and 
life-long:  value. 


44  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

Properly  taken,  the  Scripture  lesson 
should  be  the  most  profitable,  and  one 
of  the  most  enjoyable  in  the  whole  curric- 
ulum. Sad  to  say,  it  is  often  unplanned,  vague, 
uninteresting,  and  consequently  useless.  The  laws 
of  psychology  and  the  rules  of  method  are  often 
utterly  ignored  in  teaching  this  subject,  which,  from 
its  very  character,  ought  to  be  taught  in  the  most 
reverent  and  careful  manner.  To  be  effective,  the 
lessons  must  be  planned  on  right  lines,  they  must  be 
made  interesting,  and  there  must  be  constant  work 
for  the  child's  imagination. 

What  a  remarkable  difference  one  may  often 
notice  between  the  recital  of  Tennyson's  "  Revenge  " 
and  that  of  the  23rd  Psalm  !  In  the  one  case  the 
scenes  and  incidents  are  alive  and  real ;  in  the  other 
there  is  no  more  life  than  there  is  in  the  multiplica- 
tion table.  The  Lord's  Prayer  is  as  unmtelligently 
said  by  many  children.  "  Are  Father  we  chart 
in  Heaven,"  may  often  be  heard,  and  this  means 
that  it  is  sometimes  repeated  irreverently,  for  ir- 
reverence in  children  is  always  due  to  ignorance.  If 
Scripture  is  worth  teaching — and  it  is — it  is  worth 
doing  well.  A  successful  lesson  will  stimulate  the 
minds  of  the  children,  arouse  and  direct  their 
thoughts,  and  lead  them  to  some  desirable  end. 

There  are  people  who  object  to  religious  teaching 
of  any  kind  in  the  elementary  schools ;  but,  with 
few  exceptions,  they  are  not  the  teachers,  nor  the 
parents  of  the  children. 

Religion  is,  without  question,  the  best  and  surest 
foundation  for  morality  either  in  child  or  adult ;  it 
is  therefore  a  necessary  element  of  all  true  education. 
The  teacher's  aim  should  be  to  train  his  children  to 


GENERAL   NOTES.  45 

grow  up  into  honourable  citizens  who  will  respect 
one  another,  and  will  work  together  for  the  common 
good,  notwithstanding  differences  of  religious  belief. 
Practically  all  Christians  are  agreed  upon  those 
principles  which  bind  men  together  under  the 
Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Christ. 
If  the  basis  of  our  teaching  be,  "  Love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,"  there  will  be  no  room  for 
disagreement.  Other  details  that  divide  people  into 
sects,  need  not  trouble  us. 

If  the  Great  War  has  stamped  one  thing 
Moral  ^  upon  our  memory  more  indelibly  than 
Satl0n'  another,  it  is  the  fact  that  "Knowledge 
Important.  ig  power  to  do  evil,  as  well  as  to  do  good." 
Germany  has  taught  us  the  tragedy  of 
a  misdirected  education.  For  years  Germany  was 
the  educationists'  Mecca.  People  in  this  country 
bad  been  filled  with  high  hopes ;  they  had  been  led 
to  expect  splendid  achievements  in  other  realms 
than  the  commercial  and  industrial,  when  the  effect 
of  universal  education  began  to  make  itself  felt. 
But,  instead  of  the  splendid  uplift  and  the  spread  of 
those  humanizing  influences  which  one  had  a  right 
to  expect  from  the  best  educated  people  in  Europe, 
they  plunged  the  world  into  the  most  fearful  cauldron 
of  history ;  they  created  an  avalanche  of  horrors 
that  nearly  overwhelmed  modern  civilization,  and 
almost  succeeded  in  plunging  it  back  into  the  abyss 
of  barbarism. 

What  is  the  explanation  of  it  ?     Germany  flung 
aside  the  law  of  the  moral  life  as  so  much  useless 


46  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

lumber.  With  lofty  scorn  she  refused  to  '  play  the 
game.'  She  taught  her  citizens  that  '  Might  is 
Right,'  and  that  the  State  is  above  all  law  and  can 
do  no  wrong,  a  doctrine  far  more  infamous  than 
that  of  the  '  Divine  Right  of  Kings.'  The  result  is 
now  seen.  She  herself  has  passed  through  the 
terrible  experience  of  seeing  her  sons  die  by  the 
hundred  thousand,  and  of  witnessing  the  gains  of 
centuries  swept  away  in  the  tornado  of  war ;  and 
the  rest  of  the  world  lies  bruised  and  bleeding. 

The  lesson  we  have  to  learn  from  her  fearful 
mistake  is  that  we  must,  more  than  ever  we  have 
done  before,  lead  the  rising  generation  to  strive  and 
struggle  to  reach  the  higher  moral  levels  of  honour 
and  virtue. 

"  When  the  good  man  ceases  trying, 
The  world  drops  back  like  lead." 

"From  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away 
even  that  which  he  hath,"  said  the  Divine  Teacher. 
From  him  that  hath  not  the  higher  virtues  and  the 
nobler  qualities,  and  makes  no  effort  to  attain  them, 
shall  be  taken  away  even  the  lower  virtues,  and  less 
valuable  qualities,  which  he  now  possesses.  There 
is  no  stagnation  in  human  life;  men  and  nations 
are  either  advancing  or  receding,  either  reaching 
upwards  towards  the  higher  morality,  or  sliding 
downwards  to  degeneracy  and  extinction. 

Germany  has  proved  to  us  that  moral  progress 
is  the  only  true  progress;  and  so  our  work  as  teachers 
must  be  more  than  ever  directed  towards  keeping 
the  moral  powers  of  our  young  people  in  line  with 
their  intellectual  development  and  scientific  attain- 
ment. With  the  example  of  Germany  before  us, 
we  cannot,  without  a  feeling  of  alarm,  sit  down  for 


GENERAL    NOTES.  47 

five  minutes  and  seriously  ponder  over  what  may 
happen  in  Britain  during  the  next  twenty-five  years, 
if  we  sharpen  the  wits  of  our  young  people  up  to  the 
age  of  eighteen  by  means  of  organized  education, 
and  then  leave  them  to  their  own  devices.  We  must 
inculcate  positive  ideals  by  means  of  definite  moral 
and  religious  teaching  and  training,  and  endeavour 
to  keep  evil  from  their  minds  by  occupying  them 
with  thoughts  that  are  good,  and  worthy,  and  noble. 

We  of  larger  growth  know  some  of  the  moral 
pitfalls  that  children  are  sure  to  meet  with  on  their 
way  to  manhood  or  womanhood ;  we  know  also  that 
those  who  have  imbibed  a  spirit  of  truthfulness, 
honour,  sympathy,  loyalty,  love,  courage,  devotion, 
and  perseverance,  are  not  likely  to  become  victims 
of  drink,  gambling,  dishonesty,  lust,  lying,  laziness, 
vacillation,  fear,  and  anarchy.  We  must  lead  them 
along  the  paths  of  wisdom  and  virtue,  and  then  they 
will  learn  to  respond  to  the  ideal;  they  will  use 
their  powers  for  good  and  not  for  evil,  and,  follow- 
ing "the  gleam,"  they  will  endure  hardship  gladly 
for  righteousness'  sake. 

Opportunities  for  giving  rise  to  pure  and  healthy 
thoughts,  and  of  influencing  character  in  the  right 
direction,  occur  in  nearly  every  lesson,  and  particu- 
larly in  those  on  literature  and  history.  The 
Scripture  lesson,  if  rightly  and  reverently  taken,  is 
of  supreme  value.  The  Bible  is  a  storehouse  of 
wonderful  stories  specially  suitable  for  moral  teach- 
ing ;  and  I  am  convinced,  after  years  of  practice, 
that  the  Story  in  its  various  .forms  is  the  teacher's 
best  instrument.  Two  fifteen-minute  lessons  a  week 
for  the  younger  children,  and  one  half-hour  lesson 
for  the  older  ones,  will  suffice.  Mr.  F.  J.  Gould's 


48  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

books  contain  excellent  material  for  the  teaching  of 
young  children ;  the  older  boys  and  girls  will  be 
able  to  take  more  solid  food  in  the  form  of  the  heroic 
and  the  biographical.  All  such  lessons  must  be 
made  so  interesting  that  children  will  eagerly  look 
forward  to  them.  Stories  of  right  and  wrong  must 
be  told  in  so  impressive  a  way  that  the  Tightness  of 
right  and  the  wrongness  of  wrong  leave  an  indelible 
mark  upon  the  memory,  and  create  an  eager  desire 
in  the  minds  of  the  children  to  follow  the  one  and 
avoid  the  other.  No  moral  should  ever  be  pointed 
out;  it  is  a  childish  instinct  to  love  a  story  and 
hate  a  moral.  A  story  or  biography  that  does  not 
contain  its  own  moral,  should  never  be  chosen. 
Here  also  it  should  be  said  that  formal  moral  lessons 
on  subjects  such  as  honesty,  truthfulness,  gratitude, 
and  the  like,  are  useless. 

The  teacher  must  aim  not  only  at  giving  moral 
ideas,  but  at  generating  motive  control.  Many 
children  are  like  their  elders ;  they  know  what  is 
right,  but  lack  the  power  to  do  it.  The  teacher 
must  train  them  to  acquire  that  power,  by  finding 
opportunities  for  them  to  exercise  it  in  some  such 
way  as  Boy  Scouts  have  to  exercise  theirs,  by  doing 
one  kind  action  for  somebody  each  day. 

By  such  work  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  and  by 
example  and  precept  on  the  part  of  the  teacher, 
much  may  be  accomplished.  Dean  Inge  says, 
"  Christianity  is  something  that  people  catch  like 
the  measles  from  somebody  else  who  has  it;"  and 
certainly  a  good  example  is  the  greatest  incentive 
to  right  doing.  If  we  sow  the  seed  and  show 
exemplary  fruit  in  our  own  lives,  we  shall  command 
success.  Some  of  the  seed  will  doubtless  fall  upon 


GENERAL   NOTES.  49 

the  thorny,  stony,  shallow  ground,  and  come  to 
nothing;  but  some  will  also  fall  upon  the  good 
ground,  and  will  probably  bring  forth  fruit  a  hundred- 
fold. Herein  is  our  great  reward. 

A  horse  may  be  taken  down  to  the  pond, 
but  no  driver  can  compel  him  to  drink. 
Driving.  Similarly,  a  teacher  may  gather  his  chil- 
dren into  a  classroom,  but  he  cannot  com- 
pel them  to  learn.  Many  teachers  who  have  missed 
their  vocation  try  to  do  it ;  those  who  have  a 
natural  penchant  for  teaching  never  attempt  it.  By 
the  exercise  of  skill,  tact,  and  patience,  they  endeavour 
to  lead  their  pupils  to  drink  at  the  fount  of  know- 
ledge rather  than  to  drive  them  to  it ;  and  the  two 
magnets  they  employ  are  "  interest  "  and  "  pleasure." 
No  dead  wood  and  no  dry  bones  are  allowed  to 
strew  their  path.  Arithmetic  is  associated  with 
everyday  life  ;  composition  deals  with  live  subjects  ; 
history  of  times  past  is  linked  up  to,  and  compared 
and  contrasted  with,  the  history  that  is  being  made 
to-day  :  geography  and  nature-study  are  dealt  with 
mainly  in  the  fields,  lanes,  woods,  and  valleys,  on 
the  hills  and  river-banks  ;  singing,  physical  exercises, 
and  games  are,  whenever  possible,  taken  out-of- 
doors,  and  are  interspersed  with  the  harder  lessons  ; 
hobbies  are  encouraged  and  the  teacher  takes  an 
interest  in  them  ;  and  visits  to  factories,  mills,  and 
places  of  local  historic  importance  are  periodically 
arranged.  Where  these  things  are  done,  '  driving ' 
is  never  needed  ;  the  children  are  eager  to  be  '  led.' 

Can  the  memory  be  trained  ?     Pelmanism 

!?e™ry  says  "  YES," "  in  capital  letters.  The 
Training.  '  '  , L  , 

person  who  has  a  good  memory  must  nave 


50  MODERN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

the  power  to  acquire  knowledge  as  well  as  to  retain 
it.  As  a  result  of  extensive  and  exhaustive  experi- 
ments, psychologists  are  of  opinion  that  the  memory 
can  be  trained.  It  seems  to  be  the  rule  that  children 
have  lower  powers  of  acquisition  and  higher  powers 
of  retention  than  adults.  A  child  can  learn  by  heart 
something  he  does  not  understand  ;  an  adult  cannot, 
at  least  not  without  unusual  effort.  In  the  child 
the  power  to  acquire  increases  from  the  age  of  eleven 
onwards,  but  his  power  to  retain  what  he  has  learnt 
probably  decreases  in  a  similar  proportion. 

All  experiments  go  to  show  that  memory  is  very 
much  improved  by  frequent  practice  with  suitable 
memory  exercises.  This  holds  good  for  adults  as 
well  as  for  children,  though  in  the  case  of  adults 
the  exercises  are  of  use  in  preventing  or  retarding 
natural  decline  due  to  advancing  years  rather  than 
in  giving  increased  power.  Not  only  does  training 
increase  the  power  of  memory  as  regards  the  kind 
of  material  used  in  the  special  exercises,  but  it  gives 
a  general  increase  of  power.  It  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  all  children  do  not  memorize  in  the 
same  way.  Some  learn  mainly  through  the  eye, 
others  through  the  ear,  many  through  both.  This 
being  so,  when  memorizing  is  done  there  should  be 
opportunity  to  use  the  eyes  and  ears,  to  write  and 
to  repeat.  Forty-five  consecutive  minutes  spent  in 
memorizing  are  not  nearly  as  effective  as  three 
separate  periods  of  fifteen  minutes  each.  The 
spaces  between  give  the  brain  time  to  absorb  what 
has  been  learnt,  and  when  once  absorbed  the  matter 
is  easily  recalled. 


GENERAL   NOTES.  51 

.  .  Children  must  be  trained  to  be  intelli- 

needecT^not  §en*'  anc^  ^°  ^nmk  clearly  and  logically, 
Cramming,  rather  than  be  crammed  with  facts. 
The  teacher  who  has  so  much  to  get 
through  and  means  to  get  through  it,  hurls  facts  at 
the  children  all  through  the  lesson  and  expects  them 
to  be  remembered — an  expectation  that  is  never 
realized.  Even  if  such  facts  are  accepted  for  the 
moment  they  are  not  properly  assimilated,  and  all 
knowledge  of  them  soon  disappears.  This  is  not  the 
natural  way  of  doing  things.  Nature  goes  carefully 
and  kindly  about  her  work,  is  never  hurried,  but  is 
never  lazy  ;  sometimes  slow,  but  always  sure. 

Children  in  school  must  be  active  rather  than 
passive ;  doing  a  little  here  and  a  little  there ;  talking, 
questioning,  seeing,  handling ;  gaining  knowledge 
first  in  this  way  and  then  in  that  way,  at  the  right 
time  and  when  they  are  ready  for  it ;  discovering 
the  value  of  personal  and  independent  effort,  and 
becoming  real  learners  rather  than  mere  listeners. 
This  is  the  way  to  lay  the  foundations  of  thoughtful, 
industrious  citizenship.  By  this  method,  knowledge 
acquired  will  be  transformed  into  driving  power 
rather  than  remain  as  a  constantly  diminishing  cargo. 

City  children  are  much  more  liable  to 
straln'in  nerve-strain  than  those  who  live  in  the 
Children.  country.  Life  for  them  is  always  in  full 

swing,  and  is  ever  bringing  new  experi- 
ences. Their  environment  at  home  and  at  school,  is 
so  crowded  with  objects  and  events  that  it  requires 
great  effort  on  the  part  of  any  child  to  adjust  himself 
to  the  changing  circumstances.  Nervous  energy  is 
being  expended  in  so  many  directions  that  it  is  little 


52  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

wonder   that   the   less   robust   occasionally   have   a 
breakdown. 

The  teacher  must  consider  seriously  what  methods 
he  can  adopt  to  minimize  this  evil.  It  can  be  done 
only  by  studying  the  temperament  of  the  child, 
obtaining  all  the  information  he  can  regarding  its 
home  life  and  general  circumstances,  and  then  doing 
his  best  to  adapt  its  school  life  to  its  common  life. 
'  Sweet  reasonableness '  must  enter  into  all  the 
teacher's  school  demands,  and  he  must  be  able  to 
judge  when  the  limit  is  reached  in  the  case  of  each 
child  in  his  class.  Impositions  after  school  hours, 
keeping-in  during  time  for  recreation,  punishment 
for  apparent  carelessness  or  stupidity — both  of  which 
may  be  beyond  the  child's  control — and  the  giving 
of  home  lessons,  should  be  rare  exceptions  rather  than 
the  rule.  By  sympathy  and  insight  the  teacher  can 
do  a  great  deal  towards  preventing  undue  nerve- 
strain  among  the  children  in  his  charge. 

The  proper  way  to  get  rid  of    any  un- 

o    ure        desirable  habit  in  a  child  is  not  to  lecture 

Children.       him  about  it,  or  to  give  punishment  for 

it,  but  to  inspire  him  to  act  in  the  opposite 
direction.  If  a  child  is  selfish,  we  must  show  him 
the  beauty  of  giving  up  for  the  sake  of  others,  and 
we  must  do  it  ourselves  as  an  example.  If  a 
child  has  a  tendency  to  appropriate  the  plavthings 
belonging  to  his  playmates,  we  must  teach  him  to 
value  his  own  playthings,  and  from  that  lead  him 
to  see  how  other  children  value  theirs,  and  so  arouse 
sympathy  for  their  loss. 

One  of  the  unpardonable  sins  is  to  ascribe  wrong 
motives  to  children,  or  to  put  the  worst  interpreta- 


GENERAL    NOTES.  53 

tion  on  what  they  do.  Children  often  do  things 
thoughtlessly,  impulsively,  ignorantly,  or  quite  inno- 
cently, and  often  they  should  be  excused  where  adults 
could  not  possibly  be  excused  on  the  same  grounds. 
To  keep  the  lower  nature  in  subjection  there  must  be 
frequent  appeals  to  the  higher  nature.  By  a  constant 
"  Thou  shalt  not,"  we  are  appealing  to  the  lower  nature 
through  the  power  of  suggestion,  and  in  so  doing  we 
are  bringing  it  into  a  prominent  position.  We  must 
keep  the  evil  out  of  sight  and  out  of  mind,  and  see 
to  it  that  the  good  is  ever  kept  in  the  foreground. 

In  every  school  there  will  be  found  from 

Children  ^ve  *°  ten  Per  cen*  °^  children  who  are 
really  dull  and  one  or  two  per  cent  who 
are  mentally  deficient.  The  only  method  with  the 
latter  is  to  transfer  them  to  the  schools  specially 
provided  for  their  treatment ;  the  elementary  school 
teacher  has  neither  the  time  nor  the  opportunity, 
nor  has  he  had  the  special  training  necessary,  to  deal 
with  such  cases.  But  the  dull  children  fall  within 
his  province.  They  are  always  of  two  classes,  and 
these  must  be  carefully  distinguished,  as  each  class 
calls  for  different  treatment. 

There  is  the  child  whose  dullness  is  due  to  parental 
neglect,  malnutrition,  and  unhealthy  environment. 
He  is  usually  thin  and  pale,  and  has  an  appearance 
of  arrested  development.  The  School  Medical  Officer 
and  the  Local  Education  Authority  must  deal  with 
him  before  the  teacher  can  do  anything.  His 
mental  powers  are  stunted  by  his  physical  condition  ; 
when  that  condition  is  improved  his  intelligence  will 
have  an  opportunity  to  develop,  and  the  teacher  will 
then  be  able  to  classify  him  as  normal. 
E 


54  MODERN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

But  there  is  another  class  whose  dullness  is 
natural,  and  as  far  as  reading,  spelling,  and  arith- 
metic are  concerned  the  teacher  feels  inclined  to  write 
them  down  as  hopeless.  These  are  the  children  who 
remain  in  the  same  standard  two  or  three  years,  and 
never  get  beyond  standard  three  or  four.  They 
never  will  be  able  to  master  the  ordinary  school 
subjects,  but  they  can  be  made  useful  working 
members  of  the  community. 

The  best  method  of  dealing  with  them  is  to  gather 
them  all  together  into  one  class  at  about  the  age  of 
eleven,  and  put  them  in  charge  of  a  special  teacher 
who  will  study  them  individually.  He  will  find  out 
what  there  is  in  the  scheme  of  things  that  they  are 
likely  to  be  able  to  do — in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it 
will  be  some  form  of  handwork — and  then  he  can 
aim  at  their  development  mainly  along  this  line. 
Individual  treatment  is  what  they  need,  and  this 
method  has  been  tried  with  very  satisfactory  results. 
It  succeeds  in  making  children  who  would  probably 
help  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  unemployables  and  the 
criminals  into  industrious  workers  and  useful  citizens. 

When  the  working  day  is  reduced  to  eight, 

T  U 

*he  or,  as  seems  quite  probable,  even  to  fewer 

hours,  one  of  the   great   questions  of  the 

Time.  future  will  be  : — "  What  are  people  to  do 

with  their  spare  time  ?  "     And  the  teachers 

in  the  schools  will  be  largely  responsible  for  the  way 

in  which  the  question  is  answered. 

No  doubt  the  goal  in  the  mind  of  the  Board  of 

Education  is  the  usefulness  of  the  individual  to  the 

community.     That  is  the  utilitarian  side  of  it.     But 

there  is  another  side  to  education,  there  is  the  ethical 


GENERAL    NOTES.  55 

side.  It  is  equally  important  to  the  well-being  of 
the  nation  that  young  people  should  be  trained  to 
spend  their  leisure  time  in  an  enjoyable  and  profit- 
able way.  It  is  fundamental  that  education  should 
put  every  child  in  the  way  of  earning  a  living  by 
methods  most  suitable  to  his  physical  and  mental 
capacity ;  it  is  equally  important  that  he  should 
know  how  to  amuse  himself  in  a  worthy  and  rational 
way. 

If  the  teacher  keeps  this  object  in  view,  he  will 
hold  in  check  all  the  undesirable  tendencies  of  the 
child,  while  exerting  all  his  power  to  foster  and 
develop  his  better  instincts  and  saner  interests. 
These  will  nearly  always  lie  along  the  pathway  of 
music,  art,  literature,  and  nature  study.  If  the 
teacher  can  use  the  component  materials  of  any  one 
of  these  subjects  in  such  a  way  as  to  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  a  life-long  interest,  he  will  have  accomplished 
a  valuable  and  important  piece  of  work,  both  for  the 
individual  himself  and  for  the  community  in  which 
he  lives. 

An  important  part  of  the  teacher's  work 
Cultivate  *s  *°  cultiva^e  ^ne  artistic  powers  of  the 
Taste.  children  so  that  they  will  not  be  content 

with  the  drab  squalor  of  the  slums.  The 
dirty  court,  the  ugly  street,  the  grimy  dwelling,  and 
untidy  personal  appearance  must  be  made  abhorrent 
to  them.  This  is  not  easy  to  accomplish  when  the 
home  and  local  environment  is  one  of  dull  monotony 
and  sordid  poverty  ;  but  the  effort  can  be  made  to 
give  children  as  they  grow  up  a  '  divine  discontent ' 
with  things  as  they  are,  when  those  things  belong 
to  the  slum  type. 


56  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

A  great  deal  can  be  done  by  rambles  into  the 
adjacent  country  where  the  teacher  can  point  out 
the  beauties  of  flower  and  field  and  hedgerow ;  by 
visits  to  museums  and  art  galleries,  where  they  are 
available  ;  and  inside  the  school  by  special  care  with 
its  general  appearance.  Good  framed  pictures  on 
the  walls,  coloured  picture  postcards  mounted, 
class  albums  of  pictures,  plants  and  flowers  taste- 
fully arranged  on  the  tables  and  window-ledges, 
constant  effort  to  secure  cleanliness  and  tidiness  of 
person  in  each  child,  and  scrupulous  care  about  the 
general  appearance  of  the  room — all  these  things 
are  calculated  to  cultivate  the  artistic  tastes  and  raise 
the  general  standard  of  home  life.  The  work  con- 
nected with  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  material 
and  the  neat  appearance  of  the  room  must  be  done 
by  the  children  under  the  teacher's  guidance  ;  and 
in  that  way  the  child's  school  education,  apart  from 
all  technical  acquirements,  will  be  a  powerful  moulder 
of  its  future  life. 

As  teachers,  we  must  not  allow  the  com- 
of  th™  mercial  spirit  of  the  age  to  absorb  all  our 
Beautiful,  time  and  thought,  either  in  school  or  out 

of  it.  In  school  our  main  endeavour  must 
not  be  to  produce  workers  who  can  earn  more  money 
for  themselves  or  for  their  employers,  but  to  pro- 
duce well-trained  citizens  with  well-balanced  minds, 
who  have  a  sufficient  love  for  the  good,  the  beautiful, 
and  the  true,  to  enable  them  to  spend  their  leisure 
time  with  profit  and  joy  to  themselves  and  to  their 
relatives  and  associates,  as  well  as  to  earn  their 
living. 

We  may  not  succeed  in  turning  out  all  our  chil- 


GENERAL    NOTES.  57 

dren  with  the  ability  to  work  problems  or  always  to 
spell  correctly ;  but  if  we  can  turn  them  out  with  a 
sure  foundation  upon  which  honourable  character 
and  social  usefulness  may  be  built,  with  the  power 
to  steer  themselves  through  life  without  coming  to 
grief,  so  that,  at  the  close,  they  may  have  the  joy  of 
looking  back  upon  an  untarnished  record,  then  we 
shall  have  done  something  worth  living  for,  worth 
working  for,  and  even  worth  dying  for. 

One  important  duty  is  to  create  in  children  a  love 
of  the  beautiful.  Their  school  surroundings  must 
be  made  as  attractive  as  possible.  If  in  their  most 
impressionable  years  they  form  a  love  for  the  beauti- 
ful in  nature  and  in  art,  it  will  grow  and  fructify  in 
later  years.  Kooms  ought  to  be  large,  light,  lofty, 
and  open  to  the  sunlight.  The  interior  should  be 
tastefully  decorated,  and  pleasingly  arranged  ;  plants 
and  flowers  should  have  their  place,  and  coloured 
reproductions  of  the  best  pictures  should  adorn  the 
walls.  The  contemplation  of  such  a  room  day  after 
day  has  a  powerful  effect  upon  character.  The 
poorer  the  district  the  more  urgent  is  the  need.  We 
must  make  children  discontented  with  things  that 
are  tawdry  ;  we  must  give  them  a  distaste  for  their 
sordid  slum  surroundings  ;  only  by  so  doing  can  we 
hope  to  achieve  a  better  social  state  in  the  days  that 
are  to  come. 

Habit  may  be  described  as  mechanical 
Habit  of  action.  It  is  a  tendency,  formed  by 
Attention,  repetition,  to  think,  feel,  or  act  in  a  certain 

way  under  certain  circumstances.  Child- 
nature  seeks  constant  change  ;  the  young  mind  flits 
from  one  object  to  another,  sometimes  with  lightning 


53  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

rapidity ;    the  focus  of  consciousness  is  being  fre- 
quently transferred  from  one  point  to  another. 

One  of  the  first  things  the  teacher  has  to  do — 
and  it  has  to  be  done  in  a  gentle,  kindly  way — is  to 
bring  mind -wander  ing  under  control.  This  can  only 
be  done,  in  the  early  stages,  by  making  lessons  suffi- 
ciently brief  and  interesting  to  counteract  the  natural 
inclination  to  mind-wandering.  The  child's  effort 
to  attend,  that  is,  to  keep  its  mind  following  one 
particular  direction,  will  only  be  maintained  so  long 
as  tfhe  one  object  before  it  is  more  attractive  than 
another.  Its  first  attempts  at  self-control  in  this 
direction  will  be  brief,  but  will  grow  longer  with  each 
effort.  Care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  distractions, 
as  nothing  interferes  more  with  the  formation  of  the 
habit  of  attention  than  frequent  lapses  into  inatten- 
tion during  the  time  when  attention  is  being  exercised. 
With  repeated  effort  there  will  come  an  increasing 
power,  and  a  facility  to  act ;  and  then  the  habit  of 
attention  will  have  been  acquired. 

The  paper  and  pen  on  which  and  with 
sciousness  wmcn  I  am  writing  this  note  form  the 

centre  or  focus  of  my  consciousness  for 
the  moment.  But  there  are  other  things  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  that  I  see  subconsciously  ;  by  that 
1  mean  they  are  on  the  margin  of  my  consciousness. 
It  would  be  quite  easy  for  me  to  transfer  my  atten- 
tion from  this  page  to  the  vase  of  flowers  in  front  of 
me  ;  then  that  would  be  in  the  focus  of  my  con- 
sciousness, and  this  paper  would  recede  into  the 
fringe  of  consciousness,  or  into  subconsciousness. 

And  so  it  is  in  our  school  lessons.  Children  cannot 
focus  their  attention  on  any  one  object  without 


GENERAL    NOTES.  59 

having  other  things  lurking  on  the  borders  of  con- 
sciousness, and  some  change  in  the  conditions  at 
once  transfers  the  focus  from  one  thing  to  another. 
The  knowledge  that  this  is  so  should  teach  us  to  be 
careful  as  to  what  is  in  the  range  of  subconsciousness. 
During  lessons  requiring  concentration,  distracting 
elements  must  be  removed,  and  sufficient  interest 
must  be  aroused  and  maintained  to  keep  in  the 
focus  of  consciousness  whatever  for  the  time  being 
has  to  be  taught  and  studied. 

The  teacher  must  not  only    arouse  the 

htt~SL  attention  of  his  pUDils  ;  he  must  know 
Attention.  r  x 

now  to  keep  it.  Most  cases  01  inattention 
to  the  work  in  hand  are  due  to  certain  trains  of 
thought  aroused  by  recent  experiences,  or  connected 
with  future  projects.  If  a  class  has  been  having  an 
interesting  story  lesson,  it  is  not  easy  for  the  children 
to  break  away  from  the  alluring  pictures  of  the 
imagination  that  have  been  formed,  and  concentrate 
on  something  that  requires  serious  thought.  This 
difficulty  can  be  obviated  in  a  large  measure  by  taking 
the  lighter  and  more  interesting  subjects  near  the 
close  of  the  morning  or  afternoon  session. 

Children  naturally  attend  to  whatever  appeals 
to  them  most.  Of  course,  as  a  child  grows  older  he 
gains  power  in  resisting  interesting  side-issues,  and 
in  concentrating  upon  some  desired  object.  But  it 
is  next  to  impossible  for  the  young  child  to  believe 
that  dull,  drab  things  are  of  any  importance  ;  hence 
the  teacher's  difficulty  in  maintaining  attention  on 
certain  subjects. 

Before  the  lesson  begins  the  teacher  must  take 
care  that,  as  far  as  possible,  all  sources  of  distraction 


60  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

are  removed.  Loud  talking  outside  the  room, 
teachers  and  children  from  other  classes  coming  into 
the  room,  noises  of  various  kinds,  anything  which 
starts  a  new  train  of  thought,  must  be  avoided. 

Then  again,  the  teacher  must  be  in  such  a  posi- 
tion that  no  child  is  able  to  hide  himself  behind 
another.  Experienced  teachers  know  well  enough 
that  when  they  cannot  catch  the  child's  eye  they 
have  no  hold  on  its  owner ;  and  when  that  happens 
attention  is  almost  certain  to  wander  elsewhere. 

Again,  it  is  inadvisable  to  let  bosom  chums  sit- 
together  in  class  ;  if  there  is  the  ghost  of  a  chance 
they  are  almost  sure  to  be  turning  over  recent  experi- 
ences, and  to  be  hatching  new  plots  ;  even  the  near 
presence  of  each  other  will  give  rise  to  trains  of 
thought  foreign  to  the  subject  in  hand. 

If  these  distractions  are  avoided,  and  the  teacher 
makes  the  lesson  as  interesting  as  the  subject  permits, 
and  if  in  its  delivery  he  makes  suitable  use  of  voice 
and  action,  he  will  have  very  little  difficulty  in  retain- 
ing attention  all  through  the  lesson. 

The  power  of  steady  application  and  the 

Concentra-        VTA  "    »     J.-L         -LA 

tion  ability  to  concentrate  one  s  thoughts  on 

a  particular  subject  at  a  particular  time 
are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  success  of  any  serious 
student.  But  care  must  be  taken  not  to  force,  nor 
to  expect,  this  power  too  early  in  a  child's  school 
career. 

One  fears  that  there  are  still  time-tables  in  use 
where  the  length  of  lessons  is  the  same  for  children 
in  the  lowest  classes  as  for  those  in  the  highest. 
Medical  men  to-day  are  of  opinion  that,  as  a  general 
rule,  it  is  inadvisable  for  a  child  to  take  up  serious 


GENERAL    NOTES.  61 

school  work  of  any  kind  before  the  age  of  six.  Very 
early  schooling  may  be  a  serious  danger.  Every 
student  of  child-nature  knows  that  the  young  brain 
delights  in  activity ;  the  child's  attention  should  as 
far  as  possible  be  allowed  to  wander  whither  it  will, 
and  ever  find  "fresh  woods  and  pastures  new." 
To  compel  a  young  child  of  five  or  six  to  fix  his 
attention  on  some  particular  subject  for  a  period 
even  of  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  or  to  sit  quite  still 
for  the  same  length  of  time  and  listen  to  the  teacher, 
is  often  a  useless,  and  possibly  a  dangerous,  experi- 
ment ;  it  is  calculated  to  retard  rather  than  to 
promote  mental  development. 

Having  said  this,  one  should  also  say  that  the 
Montessori  System,  admirable  as  it  is  for  the  youngest 
children,  is  not  without  objection  for  the  older  ones. 
No  doubt  it  is  a  legitimate  use  of  camouflage  to  induce 
children  to  think  they  are  playing,  while  really  they 
are  learning ;  but,  if  it  be  continued  too  long,  there 
will  in  later  years  be  a  lack  of  earnest  purpose  that 
may  prove  harmful.  Moreover,  the  System,  by 
allowing  the  child  to  flit  at  will  from  one  thing  to 
another,  tends  to  retard  his  power  of  concentration 
upon  things  not  chosen  by  himself ;  and  the  constant 
use  of  apparatus  tends  to  an  equally  constant  need 
for  '  crutches.'  There  is  also  a  danger  of  giving 
young  children  an  impression  that  bein£  able  to 
choose  this  pleasant  thing  and  reject  the  other 
unpleasant  thing  is  the  rule  of  life.  Those  who  get 
that  impression  are  in  for  a  bad  time  later  on.  It 
is  advisable  to  train  even  little  children  to  face  and 
overcome  necessary  difficulties,  distasteful  though 
they  may  at  first  seem  to  be.  Once  they  have  enjoyed 
the  sweets  of  conquest,  they  will  be  anxious  to  climb 


62  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

steeper  heights  ;  then,  as  time  goes  on,  they  will  be 
prepared  to  meet  and  overcome  the  problems  of  an 
exacting  and  busy  life. 

Interest  Interest  is  the  most  important  article 
in  the  teacher's  tool  chest.  Can  he  put 
life  into  a  dull  subject  ?  Can  he  make  common- 
place things  interesting  ?  If  he  can,  his  future 
is  assured.  We  have  all  noticed  the  different 
degrees  of  ability  to  interest  in  different  preachers 
we  have  heard,  and  in  the  conversation  of  different 
people  we  have  met.  Some  people  are  interesting 
without  effort  and  without  knowing  it ;  others  are 
equally  as  dull  without  knowing  it. 

To  be  interesting,  a  teacher  must  overcome  every- 
thing in  the  way  of  '  nerves.'  If  he  is  self-conscious, 
or  if  his  thoughts  are  wandering  to  Mr.  So-and-so 
— who  may  be  in  the  room — wondering  what  his 
opinion  of  the  matter  in  hand  may  be,  he  will  never 
retain  the  interest  of  his  pupils.  If  he  knows  his 
subject  thoroughly,  and  has  the  power  to  express 
his  thoughts  readily  and  clearly,  he  has  nothing  to 
fear.  Confidence  in  one's  own  powers  is  the  first 
essential  for  all  effective  speakers  and  teachers.  Of 
course,  some  people  are  confident  they  can  do  things 
when  they  cannot ;  that  is  a  kind  of  confidence  best 
described  by  the  word  '  conceit.'  But  it  is  not 
conceit  in  the  man  who  knows,  and  knows  that  he 
knows. 

Gesture,  too,  is  an  important  factor  in  arousing 
and  maintaining  interest.  The  teacher  who  can 
make  his  hands  and  feet  and  face  and  body  '  talk ' 
is  always  able  to  hold  the  interest  of  his  hearers. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  acquire  a  good  vocabulary. 


GENERAL    NOTES.  63 

To  hit  upon  the  right  word  or  phrase  at  the  right 
moment  is  of  the  utmost  value.  To  do  this  the 
teacher  must  read  widely,  and  make  frequent  use 
of  happy  words  and  phrases  he  meets  with  in  his 
reading ;  and  he  must  have  constant  practice. 

The  voice,  too,  must  be  under  perfect  control. 
A  musical  voice  of  good  compass  and  well  trained  is 
an  enviable  possession  ;  it  can  be  used  with  varia- 
tions of  light  and  shade  with  splendid  effect. 

The  teacher  who  strives  to  be  confident,  to  culti- 
vate suitable  gesture,  to  acquire  a  good  vocabulary, 
a  flexible  voice,  and  a  pleasant  manner,  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  arousing  interest  and  in  keeping  it. 

A.  casual  acquaintance   with   child  study 

of  Interest  *e^s  any°ne  now  deeply  interested  chil- 
dren are  in  things  that  have  ceased  to 
interest  adults,  how  lively  is  their  imagination  and 
how  excited  they  are  over  apparently  trivial  matters. 
Their  senses,  especially  those  of  sight  and  touch,  are 
in  active  and  constant  use.  Home,  street,  play- 
ground, park,  city,  picture  house,  are  full  of  wonder 
and  interest  to  them  ;  and  through  contact  with 
these  things  they  acquire  a  fund  of  knowledge  of 
great  importance. 

What  a  change  when  the  young  child  is  translated 
to  the  ordinary  school,  that  is,  if  it  be  one  of  the  old- 
fashioned  type  !  There  his  chief  work  is  to  listen 
and  sit  still,  be  a  good  little  boy  and  never  say  '  mum,' 
unless  he  is  spoken  to.  Where  this  prevails  the 
stunting  process  operates  from  the  very  beginning 
of  his  school  life,  and  his  progress  in  the  various 
subjects  is  largely  in  spite  of,  not  on  account  of,  the 
methods  adopted. 


64  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

Education  should  proceed  through  a  child's 
interests  and  activities  ;  that  is  the  only  method  by 
which  he  can  be  adequately  trained,  and  through 
which  his  knowledge  can  become  permanent.  It 
is  a  sound  law  of  education  to  make  use  of  a  child's 
natural  powers  as  soon  as  they  show  themselves. 
Wonder  appears  very  early,  and  then  arises  the  desire 
to  see  fresh  things.  The  constructive  instinct  is 
seen  soon  afterwards,  and  then  the  child  must  be  using 
his  fingers  and  making  things.  Later,  in  most  children, 
curiosity  appears,  and  they  want  to  know  '  why  ?  ' 

If  these  powers  are  put  into  proper  channels  at 
the  proper  time,  they  will  be  a  great  help  to  the 
teacher,  and  of  the  utmost  value  to  the  child.  If 
they  are  misused,  or  suppressed  till  a  later  stage, 
irreparable  harm  may  be  done. 

When  the  child  is  interested  and  is  allowed  to  do 
things,  or  to  express  himself  by  action,  the  teacher's 
work  becomes  easy  and  pleasant.  If  his  natural 
curiosity,  his  love  of  wanting  to  know,  his  eternal 
'  why  ?  '  be  properly  utilized,  they  will  prove  of 
inestimable  worth  both  during  school  life  and  in  that 
which  is  to  follow. 

We  have  all  noted  the  cleverness  of  the  adver- 
tiser who  rents  a  portion  of  space  on  a  hoarding, 
and  simply  prints  in  the  middle  of  it,  "  Keep  your 
eye  on  this  spot " ;  or  who  uses  the  sandwich- 
man,  and  on  his  front  board  puts,  "  Don't  look  at 
my  back";  where,  of  course,  the  advertisement  is 
prominently  set  forth.  He  knows  how  to  excite 
curiosity  ! 

The  teacher  who  can  do  this  may  be  written  down 
a  success.  It  will  not  be  the  teacher  who  is  always 
talking  and  explaining  and  smoothing  away  every 


GENERAL    NOTES.  65 

difficulty  immediately  it  crops  up  ;  nor  he  who  gives 
the  premisses,  carries  out  all  the  experiments,  and 
draws  the  conclusions.  It  will  be  he  who  knows  that 
a  child  is  most  interested  in  what  he  is  doing  him- 
self ;  he  who  brings  out  his  specimens  one  at  a  time 
with  a  certain  amount  of  mystery ;  he  who  allows 
the  children  to  do  the  work  while  he  himself  super- 
intends and  gives  aid  where  it  is  needed ;  and  he 
who  links  up  the  material  of  his  lessons  with  what 
is  already  an  interesting  section  of  the  pupil's  own 
knowledge. 

Organized  games  are  now  a  regular  fea- 
pj°w  ture  in  most  schools.  If  the  supervision 

is  what  it  should  be,  the  organized  game 
is  not  '  play  '  for  the  teacher  ;  it  is  very  hard  work. 
If  all  points  are  to  be  watched  he  must  be  on  the 
qui  vive  every  moment.  The  teacher  who  does  this, 
and  puts  his  heart  and  soul  into  the  work,  is  doing 
no  small  share  towards  the  development  of  sterling 
character  in  those  children  in  his  charge. 

To  teach  boys  to  take  part  in,  and  watch,  a  game 
of  cricket  after  the  manner  of  true  sportsmen  is  valu- 
able disciplinary  work.  When  a  boy  is  given  out 
l.b.w.  in  the  first  over,  and  is  sufficiently  self -con- 
trolled to  take  the  umpire's  verdict  without  demur, 
put  his  bat  under  his  arm  and  walk  quietly  out,  he 
is  on  the  right  way  to  make  a  worthy  man.  When, 
without  being  prompted,  he  can  applaud  smart  work 
on  the  part  of  the  opposing  side,  he  has  a  good  idea 
of  fairness.  When  he  can  plod  bravely  on  against 
a  big  score  piled  up  by  his  opponents,  or  '  stick  it ' 
when  he  knows  the  game  is  lost,  he  is  developing  that 
sort  of  pluck  of  which  Britishers  are  proud. 


66  MODERN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

Swimming  for  boys  and  girls,  football  for  boys, 
and  net-ball  for  girls,  can  be  used  to  the  same 
purpose. 

In  football  the  principal  muscles  of  the  body 
are  developed ;  at  the  same  time  players  have  to  be 
quick  to  discern  weak  places  in  an  opponent's  defence  ; 
individual  effort  and  co-operation  are  in  constant 
action,  while  resourcefulness  and  self-control  are 
receiving  continual  practice.  To  receive  a  kick  on 
the  shins  with  a  smile,  and  to  recognize  that  it  was 
done  quite  accidentally  show  the  possession  of  a 
valuable  power  of  self-control. 

Qualities  such  as  these,  taught  on  the  playing 
fields,  will  be  of  great  value  all  through  life. 

One  of  the  most   painful  experiences  of 

^e  ^rue  ^eacner  ^s  ^°  see  a  class  of  vonng 
children  frequently  sitting  bolt  upright, 
with  hands  behind  or  arms  folded,  and  doing  nothing 
but  trying  to  listen  to  the  teacher's  ever-flowing 
stream  of  words.  Some  schools  remind  one  of  a 
Public  Reference  Library,  where  '  silence '  is  the 
word,  and  '  book  '  is  the  be-all  and  end-all  of  things. 
A  school  should  be  more  like  a  workshop  than  a 
Reference  Library.  One  of  the  outstanding  features 
of  child  life  is  activity.  Little  children  especially  are 
all  alive  and  full  of  energy,  and  to  keep  them  sitting 
still  for  any  length  of  time  when  their  fingers  are 
itching  to  be  employed  is  a  form  of  torture.  They 
should  be  given  something  to  do  as  often  as  possible, 
for  they  will  learn  more  by  '  doing  '  than  by  all  the 
talking  the  teacher  can  inflict  upon  them. 


GENERAL   NOTES.  67 

The  best,  and,  in  reality,  the  only  true, 

i  n P    V  3 111 P  ~t  *  •  •*  •       v 

t  TU-       •    educative    instrument    is    experience.     A 
of  Things  in  n    ,        ,    .      r.         . 

Teaching.      child  learns  to  walk  by  doing  it ;   it  gams 

its  knowledge  of  things  by  acting  upon 
them  ;  and  for  a  child  there  is  no  other  way.  The 
younger  the  children,  the  more  must  objects  be  used 
in  their  education.  This  does  not  mean  that  books 
must  be  thrown  aside  or  neglected,  but  that  they 
must  be  used  at  the  proper  time  and  in  the  proper 
place.  The  young  child's  hands  should  have  almost 
constant  employment  in  school  as  an  outlet  for  its 
natural  activity.  Making  dolls'  furniture  in  paper, 
toys  of  various  kinds,  and  certain  objects  in  clay  or 
other  plastic  materials,  affords  most  interest,  and 
is  therefore  of  considerable  value.  If  what  the 
children  do  involves  a  certain  amount  of  mental 
effort  as  well  as  manual  exercise,  it  is  of  still  greater 
benefit. 

As  education  proceeds,  books  come  into  use ;  it 
is  through  them  that  children,  and  older  people, 
too,  benefit  by  the  knowledge,  experience,  and 
wisdom  of  others.  Books  widen  their  outlook  and 
enlarge  their  environment,  and,  when  rightly  chosen 
and  properly  used,  they  are  of  the  greatest  value. 

Every  ordinary  child  in  normal  health 
Activity  displays  a  considerable  amount  of  activity. 

It  wants  to  know,  and  it  wants  to  do.  Its 
questions  are  legion,  and  its  activities  are  often  em- 
barrassing. How  it  chafes  under  the  teacher's 
history  '  lecture  '  ;  how  its  fingers  are  itching  to  do 
something,  so  much  so  that  it  must  take  that  knife 
out  of  its  pocket  and  examine  it  once  again ! 

Knowledge  of  these  facts  should  make  it  plain 


68  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

to  any  teacher  that  his  measure  of  success  will  be  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  to  which  he  utilizes  these 
natural  gifts  of  inquisitiveness  and  activity.  Dull 
days  must  be  lightened  and  dull  lessons  relieved  by 
the  exercise  of  these  gifts.  A  good  story  told  by  the 
teacher,  or  five  minutes'  brisk  singing,  will  do  much 
to  remove  the  listlessness  caused  by  the  weather. 
Permission  to  ask  the  teacher  questions  or  to  illus- 
trate by  a  rough  sketch  some  feature  that  occurs  in 
a  lesson  will  go  far  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  a  rather 
dry  subject. 

In  these  ways  the  tired  mind  will  be  rested,  the 
apparently  indifferent  child  will  be  aroused,  and  the 
lively  ones  will  be  provided  with  an  outlet  for  their 
pent-up  energies. 

We  ought  to  make  the  best  use  of  that 
Wonder.  natural  instinct  of  wonder  which  is  found 

in  every  child,  because  that  is  the  source 
of  the  '  desire  to  know.'  To  have  to  teach  children 
who  never  want  to  know  anything  on  their  own 
initiative,  but  are  always  content  with  what  the 
teacher  says  and  provides  for  them,  is  drudgery  of 
the  worst  kind.  Wherever  this  obtains  it  is  due  to 
repression  in  the  home  or  in  school  under  the  sacred 
name  of  discipline  ;  and  then  education  becomes 
mere  mechanical  instruction. 

The  child's  natural  curiosity  should  be  watched 
and  utilized  in  every  possible  way.  Excursions  into 
the  region  of  wonderland  may  not  make  the  children 
more  efficient  workmen  in  later  years  ;  they  may 
not  satisfy  the  commercialism  ol  the  age  which  tends 
to  drag  everything  down  to  one  drab  level ;  but 
they  will  give  children  far  brighter  and  happier 


GENERAL    NOTES.  69 

views  of  life    than    those  provided  by  tall  smoky 
chimneys  and  ugly -looking  factories. 

Fairy  tales,  romances,  and  dreamland  are  part 
of  every  child's  natural  inheritance,  and  they  may 
be  used  to  lead  him  to  an  admiration  and  love  of  the 
good  and  the  beautiful,  which  will  be  an  incalculable 
boon  to  the  child  himself  as  he  grows  older,  and  will 
add  to  the  general  happiness  of  the  community. 

An  occasional  exercise  given  to  test  the 
To  Exercise  extent  and  accuracy  of  the  children's 
of^bserva-  Powers  °^  observation  will  be  found  both 
tion.  helpful  and  interesting.  Grown-up  people 

as  well  as  children  seem  at  times  to  go 
about  with  their  eyes  shut ;  for  not  infrequently 
they  cannot  tell  the  name  of  a  street  they  pass  nearly 
every  day.  The  following  exercises  will  suggest 
others  : — 

(1)  Place  about  twenty  small  objects  on  a  tray ; 

allow  children  time  to  look  at  them,  then 
remove  the  tray  and  let  the  children  write 
down  the  names  of  all  those  they  can  think  of. 

(2)  How  many  window  panes  are  there  in  the 

Hall? 

(3)  Write  down  the  names  of  all  the  pictures  in 

the  Hall. 

(4)  Name  the  kinds  of  shops  and  proprietors  on 

one  side  of  a  neighbouring  street. 

(5)  Name  the  streets  in  order  between  any  two 

given  points. 

(6)  How  many  ribs  are  there  in  an  umbrella,  and 

how  many  spokes  in  a  cart  wheel  ? 

(7)  Name  the  tram-car  stopping  places  along  a 

certain  road. 
i? 


70  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

Such  exercises  as  these  will  train  the  children  to 
use  their  eyes  and  keep  their  wits  about  them. 

Where  a  school   possesses  a  central  hall, 

Illustra-        ^s  wa^s  and  show-cases  may  be  divided 

tions.  m*°  sections  and  used  as  illustrative  of 

history,     geography,     and     nature-study 

lessons. 

In  the  history  section,  there  should  be  large  time- 
charts  on  the  wall,  and,  in  other  places,  smaller  ones 
such  as  are  given  to  the  children  ;  maps,  plans  of 
battles,  diagrams,  drawings,  pictures,  portraits,  speci- 
mens, and  models  of  historical  implements  ;  reprints 
of  historical  documents,  and  objects  illustrating  local 
history. 

The  geography  section  should  contain  maps, 
plans,  models,  graphs  of  wind  and  weather,  and  of 
thermometric  and  barometric  readings,  specimens 
of  rocks,  minerals,  animal  and  vegetable  productions, 
and  pictures  of  various  kinds. 

The  nature-study  section  should  contain  speci- 
mens of  all  things  talked  about  in  the  nature-study 
lessons  ;  sketches,  diagrams,  pictures,  and  anything 
concrete  that  is  calculated  to  invigorate  and  influ- 
ence the  imagination,  arouse  the  interest,  and  develop 
the  intelligence  of  the  children,  and  so  make  the 
lessons  real  and  effective,  and  consequently  per- 
manent in  their  results. 

Many  teachers    have   the   idea   that   the 

JSiwa  *«i    best  remedv  for  mental  fatigue  is  a  good 
and  Mental  - •  .  .  e  » 

Fatigue.        dose  of  physical  exercises.     Ihere  can  be 

no  objection  to  a  few  arm  movements  for 

two  or  three  minutes  between  change  of  lessons ;  but, 

from  a  health  point  of  view,  a  half-hour's  vigorous 


GENERAL    NOTES.  71 

physical  exercise  after  two  hours'  mental  strain  may 
cause  serious  injury. 

Medical  men  tell  us  that  fatigue  is  caused  by  the 
presence  in  the  body  of  an  excessive  quantity  of 
poisonous  waste  products  formed  during  the  expendi- 
ture of  energy  ;  and  whether  that  energy  be  physical 
or  mental  makes  no  difference  to  the  result.  This 
means  that  fatigue  caused  by  mental  work  and  that 
caused  by  physical  labour  or  exercise  are  alike  in 
their  effects  ;  and  that  being  so,  a  dose  of  physical 
exercises  can  be  no  cure  for  mental  strain.  This 
explains  why  it  is  that  busy,  hard-worked,  harassed 
people,  who  make  their  holidays  a  toil  of  a  pleasure 
in  sight-seeing  and  amusement,  return  home  in  a 
limper  condition  than  when  they  went  away. 

And  so  we  learn  that  children  who  are  physically 
fatigued  by  employment  out  of  school  hours  cannot 
possibly  use  their  school  time  to  the  best  advantage  ; 
and  that  when  a  child  is  mentally  fatigued  no  further 
progress  is  made  with  his  lessons.  The  only  remedies 
for  physical  and  mental  fatigue  are  complete  change 
and  rest. 

The  school  motto  of  the  day  is  "  Learn 
Thinking  ^v  Doing,"  and  an  admirable  motto  it 

is  ;  but  we  must  see  to  it  that  it  means 
more  than  appears  on  the  surface.  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible for  a  child  to  be  '  doing  '  without  thinking  about 
what  he  is  doing.  There  are  many  cases  where  the 
teacher  does  the  '  thinking,'  and  the  child  the  '  doing.' 
This  often  happens  when  a  problem  in  arithmetic, 
a  drawing  to  scale,  a  design,  or  a  cardboard  model 
is  given.  The  teacher  takes  the  sting  out  of  the 
problem,  and  does  the  other  things  a  bit  at  a  time 


72  MODERN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

on  the  blackboard,  and  the  children  imitate  him  step 
by  step.  Even  in  composition  such  an  elaborate 
outline  is  given  by  the  teacher  that  no  room  is  left 
for  independent  thought  on  the  part  of  the  pupil. 
Children  will  spell  words  or  repeat  tables  time  after 
time  without  giving  a  moment's  serious  thought  to 
what  they  are  doing. 

All  this  '  doing  '  without  thinking  is  of  very  little 
value  ;  therefore  the  teacher  must  train  children  to 
cultivate  the  habit  of  thinking  about  what  thev  are 

9 

doing.  To  accomplish  this  he  must  always  leave 
them  some  part  of  the  work  to  do  which  cannot  be 
done  without  thinking  about  it.  If  this  habit  is 
formed,  it  will  improve  the  child's  work  in  after- 
school  life.  Moreover  it  will  have  its  effect  upon  his 
character  ;  for  he  will  think  before  he  acts  ;  he  will 
weigh  the  pros  and  cons  of  a  certain  line  of  conduct 
before  entering  upon  it — a  habit  which  may  save  him 
from  much  evil-doing  because  of  the  foreseen  conse- 
quences to  himself  and  others,  and  one  that  will  at 
the  same  time  lead  to  his  appreciation  of  the  good, 
both  for  its  beneficial  effects  and  because  it  is  good. 

Our  boys  and  girls  are  constantly  moving 

Memento  UP  *^e  scno°l  an(^  passing  out  into  the 
great  world.  Teachers  bid  farewell  to 
most  of  their  children  with  feelings  of  real  regret. 
Some  return  on  occasional  holidays  to  see  how  the 
old  place  looks  ;  but  as  new  faces  take  the  places  of 
the  old  ones,  former  scholars  are  finally  swallowed 
up  in  the  busy  life  of  the  world,  and  the  school  knows 
them  no  more. 

As  a  memento  of  school  days  teachers  might  keep 
an  album,  one  for  each  year,  and  encourage  children 


GENERAL   NOTES.  73 

to  bring  a  small  photograph  of  themselves  a  short 
time  before  leaving.  This  can  be  pasted  in  the  book, 
and  the  child  who  brings  it  should  be  asked  to  write 
his  or  her  name,  age,  address,  and  present  date  by 
the  side  of  it.  The  teacher  will  find  these  books  an 
interesting  and  valuable  memento  of  former  days, 
one  which  increases  in  value  as  the  years  roll  by. 

In  the  best  schools  the  lantern  is  an  old 
friend,  and  has  proved  a  valuable  help, 
particularly  in  geography  and  history 
School.  lessons.  In  the  coming  days  it  will  be 
supplemented  by  the  cinematograph. 
With  this  instrument  it  is  possible  for  the  children 
to  study  the  habits  and  actions  of  birds,  beasts,  and 
insects,  as  they  may  be  seen  in  their  own  far-away 
native  lands  of  Africa,  America,  India,  or  Australia. 
Subjects  that  have  often  been  dusty  and  dry  will 
become  of  enchanting  interest. 

Educational  films  of  many  kinds  may  now  be 
obtained.  Even  forms  of  life  of  microscopic  minute- 
ness can  be  seen  in  their  various  stages  of  trans- 
formation and  development.  More  accurate  know- 
ledge can  thus  be  obtained  in  a  delightfully  interesting 
way  in  one -tenth  the  time  needed  by  book-study  and 
ordinary  class  lessons.  Cheaper  machines  and  non- 
inflammable  films  may  be  looked  for  in  the  near 
future,  and  then  all  teachers  should  see  to  it  that 
this  invaluable  ally  is  brought  into  constant  use ;  when 
this  is  done,  blackboard  sketches  and  expensive 
models  will  be  rarely  needed.  Science,  natural 
history,  geography,  history,  industries  in  action, 
processes  of  all  kinds  can  be  taught  with  interest 
and  profit,  and  at  a  great  saving  of  time  and  labour. 


74  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

Do  not  be  misled  by  any  specious  sugges- 
Curriculum  ti°ns  ^nat  ^ewer  subjects  should  be  taught 
in  elementary  schools,  and  that  it  is  better 
to  teach  a  few  things  thoroughly  rather  than  to  give 
a  smattering  of  many  things.  This  plea  sounds 
well,  but  it  is  one  of  those  half-truths  that  easily 
catch  the  unwary. 

Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  speaking  on  this  subject  to  the 
students  of  Birmingham  University  some  time  ago, 
said  : — 

"  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  hammer  things  into 
a  child  until  he  has  got  them   '  thoroughly,'  as 
some   schoolmasters    call    it.      Thoroughness    in 
the  true  sense  is  simply  impossible.     Those  who 
advocate  the  crippling  of  elementary  schools  and 
the  limitation  of  subjects  to  the  three  R's  only, 
really  advocate  the  lowering  of  national  intelli- 
gence and  capacity.    A  variety  of  subjects  develops 
the  faculties  and  quickens  the  intelligence,  and, 
moreover,  develops  a  taste  for  future  study,  rather 
than  a  dislike  of  its  dreary  monotony.     I  do  not 
wish  to  be  misunderstood  as  having  said  any- 
thing against  'thoroughness'  in  its  true  place  and 
time.     Unless  a  man  knows  what  thoroughness 
is  in  some  one  subject  he  is  not  really  educated  ; 
but  it  is  precisely  with  the  object  of  enabling  him 
to  be  '  thorough  '  in  one  subject  that  I  would 
have  him  acquainted  with  many." 
We  have  no  business  to  expect  a  child  in  an 
elementary  school  to  be  perfect  in  any  subject,  not 
even  in  arithmetic.     The  fetish  of  unerring  accuracy 
in    the    three    R's    has    held    sway  .too    long,  and 
teachers  themselves  are  largely  to  blame  for  pandering 
to  the  standard  by  which  their  work  has  often  been 


GENERAL    NOTES.  75 

measured.  It  has  meant  the  wearisome  repetition 
of  uninteresting  things  in  the  hope  of  stringing 
children  up  to  a  certain  pitch  of  attainment,  from 
which  they  naturally  begin  to  slide  immediately  the 
pressure  is  removed.  Accuracy  must  always  be  the 
aim ;  but  with  children  it  can  never  be  unfailingly 
reliable,  and  with  adolescents  only  after  years  of 
practice  in  the  particular  subject  in  which  unerring 
accuracy  is  of  prime  importance.  The  elementary 
school  is  the  place  for  laying  broad  foundations 
only  ;  the  place  where  the  child  should  be  taught 
to  take  an  interested  and  intelligent  view  of  his 
general  environment.  In  doing  this  many  things 
will  be  taught  that  have  no  cash  value  in  the 
commercial  market,  but  they  will  be  the  means  of 
bringing  joy  and  enlightenment  to  the  mind,  which 
will  be  of  far  more  value  than  great  riches. 

The  teacher  who  has  to  construct  a  time- 
Arrange-  table  should  know  something  about  the 
the^Time-  fatigue-power  of  the  various  subjects  that 
Table.  are  found  in  the  curriculum.  We  are  all 

aware  that  a  lesson  taken  by  one  teacher 
soon  becomes  dull  and  fatiguing,  while  in  the  hands 
of  another  it  is  enjoyable,  and  fatigue  is  apparently 
absent.  But  apart  from  this  it  should  be  known 
that  mathematics,  grammar,  dictation,  spelling,  and 
reading  (with  concentration)  are  the  most  fatiguing, 
while  experimental  science,  nature-study,  writing, 
drawing,  and  singing  cause  little  fatigue. 

When  the  child  is  alert  and  fresh,  that  is,  of  course, 
in  the  early  part  of  the  morning  session,  the  fatiguing 
subjects  should  be  taken,  and  the  less  fatiguing  ones 
during  the  afternoon  session.  The  length  of  lesson 


76  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

also  should  vary,  not  only  according  to  the  ages  of 
the  pupils,  but  according  to  the  time  of  day  and  the 
fatigue -producing  power  of  the  subject. 

Teachers  should  also  seek  to  obtain  more  liberty 
in  making  their  time-tables,  and  more  elasticity  in 
using  them.  The  word  '  English '  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  cover  all  the  English  subjects — reading, 
composition,  grammar,  spelling,  and  literature — 
and  the  word  '  Mathematics '  should  embrace  arith- 
metic— both  theoretical  and  practical, — mensuration, 
geometry,  mechanics,  and  algebra,  where  these 
are  taken.  This  gives  the  teacher  the  opportunity 
of  concentrating  upon  any  section  that  needs  it,  and 
each  section  will  need  it  when  entirely  new  work  is 
being  done.  If  a  teacher  is  at  liberty  to  concentrate 
upon  a  subject  or  theme  for  a  number  of  lessons 
which  follow  one  another  at  short  intervals,  it  will 
have  a  far  greater  effect  than  just  touching  a  subject 
twice  a  week  through  the  whole  term.  In  the  upper 
classes,  one  hand-writing  or  copy-book  lesson  per 
week  is  usually  indicated  on  the  approved  time- 
table. How  much  more  effective  it  is  to  take  four 
or  five  lessons  in  one  and  the  same  week  when  the 
writing  shows  deterioration,  every  teacher  knows 
who  has  tried  it. 

The  time-table  must  be  regarded  as  a  guide,  not 
as  a  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  and  then  instead 
of  being  a  hindrance  it  will  be  a  help.  "  The  letter 
killeth,  but  the  spirit  maketh  alive." 

Length  of  lessons  must  depend  upon  the 
lessens  °      time   during  which  children  are   capable 
of  giving  effective  attention  to  one  par- 
ticular subject.    This,  as  will  be  expected,  varies 


GENERAL   NOTES.  77 

largely  with  different  children,  and  according  to  the 
time  of  day  and  the  kind  of  lesson  being  given; 
but  the  best  medical  opinion  gives  the  following  as 
the  average  : — 

Ages  5  to     7  . .          . .     15  minutes. 

„     7   „    10  . .          . .     20 

„  10   „    12  .  .          . .     25 

„  12  „   15  ..          ..     30 

Taking  this  as  a  basis,  and  omitting  preliminary  and 
final  questions,  we  can  say  that,  for  the  younger 
children,  a  lesson  should  vary  from  20  to  30  minutes, 
and  for  the  older  ones,  from  30  to  45  minutes. 

Everybody  is  capable  of  more  sustained  exertion 
and  of  giving  longer  concentrated  attention  in  the 
early  part  of  the  day  ;  therefore  the  longer  and  more 
difficult  lessons  should  always  be  taken  in  the  morning 
session. 

It  is  now  being  recognized  in  all  educa- 
Scho™0  tional  quarters  that  morning  is  the  time 
for  strenuous  mental  work,  and  that  the 
afternoon  should  be  given  up  to  lighter  subjects, 
mainly  of  a  practical  character.  As  far  as  possible 
the  classroom  should  be  turned  into  a  workshop  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon ;  various  kinds 
of  handwork  can  be  done,  and  the  children  may 
be  allowed  to  move  about  freely  for  materials,  etc., 
and  permitted  to  exchange  opinions  and  discuss 
methods  with  the  teacher  and  with  their  fellow 
scholars.  If  an  allotment  garden  is  attached  to  the 
school,  some  portion  of  the  time  may  be  spent  there. 
Experimental  work  in  science,  practical  arithmetic, 
handwork  in  wood,  cardboard,  paper,  or  clay,  needle- 
work, domestic  work,  and  singing  should  be  the 
subjects  for  the  afternoon  session. 


78  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

,    Our  school  work  may  be  roughly  divided 

Division    01      •     ,  r  •  i 

School  °  °  sec^lonsJ  vlz-5  subjects  such  as 

Work.  literature,  history,  geography,  and  science, 
which  enlarge  the  pupil's  circle  of  ideas, 
and  are  employed  to  develop  his  thinking  powers, 
and  those  that  are  largely  imitative,  such  as  reading 
aloud,  speaking,  writing,  and  drawing.  Of  course, 
not  one  of  them  is  in  a  water-tight  compartment, 
they  all  overlap.  Speech  and  writing  are  used  in 
the  first  set  of  subjects,  and  new  ideas  are  acquired 
during  the  practice  of  the  second  set.  The  distinc- 
tion, however,  is  true  in  the  main.  The  first  set  aims 
at  the  extension  of  knowledge,  and  the  second  at  the 
acquisition  of  skill  in  speech,  and  with  hand  and  eye. 

We  have  to  remember  that  all  real  knowledge  is 
the  knowledge  of  experience  ;  and  knowledge  thus 
gained  is  used  in  deciding  what  other  ideas  should  be 
accepted  or  rejected.  In  school,  experience  is  gained 
mainly  by  practical  work,  and  this  induces  a  readier 
assimilation  of  the  facts  taught  in  the  class  lesson. 

But  teachers  must  not  be  led  astray  by  any  of 
the  catch  phrases  that  periodically  appear  and  dis- 
appear. The  emphasis  to-day  is  upon  '  practical ' 
work.  But  the  teacher  must  keep  a  suitable  balance. 
The  younger  the  children,  the  more  practical  work 
they  need  as  compared  with  class  teaching.  With 
older  children  the  same  amount  of  practical  work 
means  slower  progress  in  some  subjects  with  little 
or  no  increase  in  efficiency.  An  experiment  may 
often  be  performed  by  the  teacher  in  front  of  the 
class  with  the  help  of  one  or  two  pupils,  in  one-third 
of  the  time  that  would  be  required  by  an  individual 
pupil,  and  with  the  same  effect.  The  teacher  must 
be  the  judge  as  to  which  is  the  better  and  more 


GENERAL    NOTES.  79 

expeditious  method,  and  the  one  likely  to  lead  to  a 
permanent  result. 

One  afternoon  lesson  per  week  should 
Knowledge  ^e  ^o^ted  *°  ^ms  subject  in  the  upper 
classes.  Of  course,  children  are  gaining 
general  knowledge  in  most  lessons ;  but  it  is 
advantageous  to  have  one  special  lesson  in  which  we 
can  get  into  closer  touch  with  the  outside  world,  and 
where  we  can  bring  the  children  into  direct  contact 
with  present-day  celebrities  and  present-day  events. 
If  children  can  be  helped  to  understand  the  doings 
of  the  world  outside  the  school,  and  in  some  small 
measure  to  grasp  general  tendencies  and  national 
necessities,  and  relate  these  things  to  their  own 
efforts  in  school,  education  will  be  much  more  real 
and  more  interesting  to  them.  Many  important 
things  happening  in  the  world  at  large  are  rarely, 
if  ever,  referred  to  in  ordinary  school  lessons,  and  the 
'  general  knowledge  '  lesson  gives  the  opportunity. 

Children  should  be  encouraged  to  put  written 
questions  on  subjects  that  puzzle  them  into  a  box 
provided  for  the  purpose,  and  the  first  part  of  the 
general  knowledge  lesson  should  be  devoted  to 
answering  these  questions,  or  to  directing  the  chil- 
dren how  to  find  the  information  for  themselves. 

The  teacher' must  adopt  a  system  in  dealing  with 
this  subject.  If  nothing  particular  is  happening  in 
the  political  or  commercial  world,  he  can  deal  with 
natural  phenomena,  or  with  literary,  art,  and  easy 
scientific  matters,  such  as  should  come  within  the 
purview  of  every  thoughtful  citizen.  In  this  way 
the  children  will  store  up  a  fund  of  useful  informa- 
tion, and  they  will  acquire  the  habit  of  noting  and 


80  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

examining  many  important  things  which  numbers 
of  people  now  treat  with  indifference. 

A  good  weekly  edition  of  a  newspaper, 
Newspaper  suc^  as  ^at  issued  by  the  "  Times,"  may 

be  of  great  value  in  the  upper  classes  of 
a  school,  not  only  as  a  means  of  keeping  children 
up-to-date  regarding  current  events,  but  to  bring 
them  into  touch  with  real  life,  and  to  train  them 
how  to  read  the  newspaper.  There  are  parents  who 
object  to  their  children  reading  the  newspaper  at 
all ;  and,  in  the  case  of  some  papers,  they  object 
with  very  good  reason.  As  far  as  children  are  con- 
cerned there  is  objectionable  matter  in  most  papers  ; 
but  surely  that  shows  the  need  for  guidance  which 
they  will  find  useful  when  they  come  to  read  the 
newspapers  as  their  elders  do. 

There  is  too  much  newspaper  in  these  days ;  it 
forms  the  sole  literary  library  of  many  people.  It 
should  be  the  aim  of  the  teacher  to  put  it  in  its  proper 
place,  to  help  the  pupil  to  separate  the  wheat  from 
the  chaff,  to  show  him  that  newspaper  knowledge 
is  for  the  most  part  sufficient  only  for  the  day  thereof  ; 
and  for  these  reasons  most  of  the  spare  time  at  home 
devoted  to  reading  should  be  given  to  "  books  of 
all  time."  A  sincere  effort  to  cultivate  the  critical 
powers  and  a  true  literary  taste  will  solve  the  diffi- 
culty. 

Old  Dr.  Johnson  of  dictionary  fame 
said  :~ "  Knowledge  is  of  two  kinds.  We 
know  a  subject  ourselves,  or  we  know 

where  we  can  find  information  about  it." 

Knowing  where  to  go  to  get  information  has  not 

received  sufficient  attention  in  elementary  schools. 


GENERAL   NOTES.  81 

Teachers  have  tried  to  be  walking  encyclopaedias  ; 
they  have  led  children  to  think  that  every  item  of 
necessary  knowledge  is  always  at  the  tip  of  their 
tongue,  and  that  no  matter  what  the  question 
asked,  the  answer  will  be  immediately  forthcoming. 
There  are  times  in  the  course  of  a  lesson  when  this 
has  to  be  done  ;  but  it  should  not  be  a  regular  rule 
of  school  life. 

Undoubtedly  children  should  always  be  encour- 
aged to  ask  questions,  and  to  seek  information 
on  any  subject  in  which  they  are  interested  ;  but, 
instead  of  giving  the  answer,  even  when  he  knows 
it,  it  is  much  better  for  the  teacher  to  tell  a  child 
where  he  can  find  the  information  he  wants.  Send 
him  to  the  school  Reference  Library  for  the  dictionary, 
atlas,  book  of  quotations,  year  book,  '  Whitaker,' 
a  volume  of  the  encyclopaedia,  text-book,  or  what- 
ever is  required,  and  direct  him  how  to  find  what  he 
wants.  This  method  is  far  more  valuable,  as  the 
pupil  himself  will  discover  when  school  days  are  over. 

Debate  is  a  valuable   means  of  sharpen- 
ing the  wits  of  the  children  in  the  upper 
classes.     Even  those  who   are   considered  dull   will 
readily  respond  if  the  subject  chosen  is  of  interest 
to  them.     It  is  a  good  plan  to  choose  an  easy  subject 
that  lends  itself  to  a  difference  of  opinion ;  e.g. — • 
(Boys.)  "  Which  is  the  better  game,  cricket  or 

football  ?  " 
(Girls.)  "  Who    has    the    easier    life,    father    or 

mother  ?  " 

A  day  or  two  before  the  time  appointed  for  the 
debate,  eight  or  ten  of  the  sharpest  children  should 
be  chosen  to  take  the  lead.  When  sides  have  been 


82  MODERN   IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

arranged,  each  four  or  five  should  be  given  oppor- 
tunity to  meet  by  themselves  to  discuss  the  questions, 
to  note  the  strong  and  weak  points  on  both  sides, 
and  decide  on  the  best  methods  of  dealing  with  them. 
Each  member  should  be  given  some  definite  portion 
to  attack  or  support,  so  as  to  avoid  repeating  what 
others  have  said. 

When  the  debate  takes  place,  the  teacher  occupies 
the  chair,  and  sees  that  the  recognized  rules  of  debate 
are  kept.  After  the  two  leaders  on  each  side  have 
spoken,  the  way  is  open  for  any  member  of  the  class 
to  join  in ;  the  two  selected  boys  on  each  side  who 
have  not  spoken  are  held  in  reserve  to  reply  to  any 
further  criticisms  from  the  body  of  the  class. 

Near  the  close,  the  leader  on  each  side  is  allowed 
three  minutes  to  reply  to  criticisms,  or  to  make  any 
point  clear.  After  this,  the  chairman  sums  up  the 
cases  impartially,  dealing  with  the  good  and  the  bad 
points,  and  then  asks  for  a  decision  by  show  of  hands. 

As  a  stimulus  to  boys  in  the  body  of  the  class  to 
take  part,  a  promise  is  made  that  any  who  distinguish 
themselves  shall  take  a  leading  part  in  a  future  debate. 

Occasional  exercises  of  this  sort  will  be  found  to 
cultivate  alertness,  to  exercise  the  reason  and  judg- 
ment, and  give  children  the  power  to  express  them- 
selves in  a  straightforward  and  intelligent  way.  They 
also  train  children  to  control  their  tempers  and  feel- 
ings, and  lead  them  to  recognize  that  there  are  two 
sides  to  most  things. 

The  old  saying,  "  A  place  for  everything, 
Need  of  an^  everything  in  its  place,"  applies  to 
System.  schools  as  much  as  to  the  best  business 

houses.     Method    and    system   are    indis- 


GENERAL    NOTES.  83 

pensable  factors  in  any  well-conducted  class  or 
school.  So  many  kinds  of  material  are  used  in  the 
course  of  the  day's  lessons  that  carelessness  in  their 
disposal  means  waste  and  a  serious  loss  of  time. 
Books,  writing  materials,  pictures,  newspaper  cut- 
tings, apparatus,  specimens,  must  be  neatly  arranged 
and  assigned  to  their  own  places.  Cupboards, 
teachers'  desks  and  drawers,  should  never  be  allowed 
to  get  into  a  state  of  chaos. 

A  little  foresight  and  care  in  these  matters  will 
prevent  a  good  deal  of  upset  and  irritation.  Nothing 
is  more  annoying  to  a  teacher  than  to  be  unable  to 
find  a  thing  that  is  needed  for  immediate  use,  to 
discover  that  pens  and  pencils  need  attention  when 
the  children  are  called  upon  to  write  or  draw,  or  to 
find  that  all  the  test  tubes  or  paint  pots  have  been 
put  away  dirty  and  are  unfit  for  present  use.  This 
kind  of  thing  disorganizes  the  work,  and  often  spoils 
the  teacher's  temper  for  the  day.  An  example  of 
orderliness  will  have  its  effect  upon  the  children  ; 
they  will  realize  its  importance,  apply  it  to  their 
own  habits  and  actions,  and  will  some  day  feel  grate- 
ful to  the  one  who  first  taught  them  its  value. 

Why   should    desks   always   be    arranged 
rrange-       -^  parajjej[  rows  facme  the  teacher  ?   Prob- 
ment  ol  ,f    Av          i  •  4.1, 

Desks.          ably  the  only  reason  is  so  as  to  get  the 

light  from  the  left  side.  But  the  arrange- 
ment is  very  inconvenient  in  other  ways.  Placing 
a  double  or  triple  row  of  desks  in  semi-circles  so  that 
the  children  face  one  another  would  be  much  better, 
at  any  rate  in  a  well-lighted  room.  It  is  much  more 
interesting  to  see  the  face  of  a  preacher  in  church, 
and  a  speaker  at  a  public  meeting,  than  to  be  obliged 


84  MODERN    IDEAS   AND    METHODS. 

to  stare  at  the  back  of  his  head.  And  if  children  in 
school  can  see  the  facial  expression  of  the  one  who 
is  making  a  statement  or  answering  a  question,  they 
will  take  much  more  interest  in  it,  and  will  be  much 
more  attentive  to  what  is  being  said  and  done. 

Home  lessons  are  more  the  bane  of  the 
Lesscras  secondary  school  child  than  of  the  one 
who  attends  the  elementary  school.  The 
time  is  rapidly  approaching  when  secondary  school 
teachers  will  have  to  abandon  either  home  lessons 
or  the  afternoon  school ;  the  attempt  to  retain 
both  is  having  disastrous  consequences. 

Teachers  tell  parents  that  the  school  curriculum 
cannot  be  got  through  without  the  preparation  of 
lessons  at  home.  The  obvious  reply  is  that,  if  such 
be  true,  the  curriculum  must  be  shortened.  When 
Training  College  students  and  many  High  School 
scholars  have  lectures  in  the  morning  and  '  prep  '  in 
the  afternoon,  it  is  a  strange  idea  that  condemns 
young  growing  children  to  lessons  all  day  and  prepar- 
ation in  the  evening. 

Sir  James  Crichton-Browne,  the  distinguished 
physician,  says  : — 

"  Home  lessons  are  an  invention  of  the  Evil 
One.     They  poison  sleep,  and,  like  Macbeth,  they 
murder  it.     Besides  getting  the  normal  number 
of  hours  of  sleep,  a  child's  brain  should  be  pre- 
pared for  sleep  by  getting  all  its  hard  work  done 
'in  the  morning,  leaving  only  the  lighter  brain 
work  for  the  evening  hours." 
Lack  of  sleep,  caused  very  frequently  by  the  brain 
being  tired  and  the  child  excited  through  overwork 
up  till  bedtime,  is  a  real  danger  that  stunts  physical 


GENERAL    NOTES.  85 

growth,  retards  mental  development,  and,  in  the 
case  of  nervous  children,  often  does  permanent  injury. 
To  give  growing  children  two,  three,  and  sometimes 
four  hours'  work  to  do  in  the  evening  after  a  day  at 
school  is  the  best  way  that  can  be  devised  of  sowing 
nervous  and  mental  diseases.  No  teacher  who  has 
spent  one  serious  hour  in  child  study  would  ever 
dream  of  imposing  it ;  and  no  parent  who  has  the 
welfare  of  his  child  at  heart  would  ever  think  of 
allowing  it  to  be  imposed. 

Have  teachers  in  elementary  schools  ever  tried 
to  visualize  the  conditions  under  which  the  home 
lessons  of  many  of  their  children  have  to  be  done  ? 
There  is  one  living-room,  not  always  well-lighted. 
Just  one  corner  of  the  table  can  be  occupied.  Father 
is  usually  too  tired  and  mother  too  busy  to  answer 
questions.  The  work  often  has  to  be  left  half-a- 
dozen  times  so  that  the  child  may  go  somewhere  of 
importance  or  attend  to  something  that  must  be 
attended  to.  Under  circumstances  like  these  the 
home  lessons  are  a  greater  source  of  worry  to  a  child 
than  the  whole  of  the  day's  work  at  school,  and  they 
are  not  worth  it.  Where  the  home  conditions  are 
favourable,  and  the  parent  is  desirous  that  a  small 
amount  of  home  work  should  be  done,  by  all  means 
let  it  be  given. 

Where  children  do  not  attend  school  on  Saturday 
mornings,  there  can  be  no  objection  to  setting  for 
the  week-end  home  work  that  may  occupy  an  hour 
or  so  on  Saturday ;  but  it  must  be  of  a  kind  that 
the  child  can  do  by  his  own  unaided  effort,  and 
something  that  he  enjoys  doing,  if  it  is  to  help  in 
training  him  to  be  self-reliant  and  to  work  by 
himself.  An  essay — the  pupil  choosing  his  own 


86  MODERN    IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

subject — a  painting  or  drawing,  and  sketches  of 
science  experiments  and  apparatus  lend  themselves 
best  to  this  purpose. 

The  habit  of  private  study  should  be  cultivated 
at  school;  and  then,  when  the  proper  time  comes 
and  the  necessity  arises,  it  will  be  readily  and  easily 
transferred  to  the  home. 

(1)  Learning  makes  a  man  a  fit  corn- 
Useful          panion   for  himself. 

Maxims.  (2)  Train   up   a    child  in  the  way  he 

should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not 
depart  from  it. 

(3)  When  pupils  love  the  master  they  will  soon 
love  the  teaching. 

(4)  To  prepare  for  complete  living  is  the  function 
which  education  has  to  discharge. 

(5)  In  becoming  enlightened,  the  world  rises  to 
unity. 

(6)  There  is  no  darkness  but  ignorance. 

(7)  No  good  work  is  ever  lost. 

(8)  A  man  is  but  what  he  knoweth. 

(9)  Tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good   in   everything. 

(10)  What    the    mind    is    intent    upon,    that    it 
remembers  best. 

(11)  Knowledge  comes  by  eyes  always  open,  and 
working  hands,  and  there  is  no  knowledge  that  is 
not  power. 

(12)  Knowledge  is  power ;  education  is  life. 

(13)  Knowledge  may  be  power  to  do  evil  as  well 
as  to  do  good. 

(14)  Work  is  a  blessing  to  the  soul  of  the  man 
who  works. 


87 

CHAITEK  II. 
READING. 

PERHAPS  the  most  important  practical 
Reading  °  work  the  teacher  has  to  do  is  to  give  his 
pupils  a  love  of  reading  ;  not  only  a  love 
for  books  that  are  amusing,  but  for  those  that  are 
informing.  A  love  for  books  that  are  amusing  or 
pleasurable  will  come  more  readily  than  love  for  the 
other  kind.  What  is  needed  in  the  former  realm  is 
guidance,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  habit  of  treating 
it  more  in  the  nature  of  '  dessert.'  To  give  children 
the  desire  to  read  in  order  to  get  to  know,  to  find 
out  information  for  themselves,  to  gain  new  ideas, 
is  of  first  importance.  If  the  child  has  that  power, 
self-development  and  self-improvement  are  well-nigh 
assured  ;  for  he  will  be  able  to  '  carry  on '  when  there 
is  no  teacher  at  his  elbow,  and  no  hope  of  help  beyond 
what  he  can  find  on  the  shelves  of  the  Free  Library. 
Books  read  for  amusement  are  often  '  skimmed  ' ; 
if  too  many  of  these  are  read  in  a  given  time, 
'  skimming '  may  become  a  habit — a  habit  which  is 
fatal  to  serious  reading.  When  reading  a  '  solid ' 
book,  children  must  be  taught  to  weigh  every  sentence, 
criticize  the  ideas,  and  express  them  in  their  own 
words.  Those  who  have  acquired  this  power  will 
develop  '  from  within,'  and  will  in  future  years  never 
be  at  a  loss  as  to  what  to  do  with  their  spare  time. 

Children  need  to  be  taught  how  to  read, 
Read  °  so  as  ^°  §am  mf°rmation  for  themselves. 

The  paragraph  should  first  be  dealt  with, 
and  the  children  should  be  practised  in  stating  the 


88  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

contents  in  one  short  sentence.  Various  statements 
will  be  given  by  different  children.  The  teacher  will 
take  each  one,  show  in  what  way  it  fails  or  succeeds, 
and  then  choose  the  most  suitable  from  those  given  or 
amended.  Unless  the  children  have  read  the  para- 
graph carefully,  and  have  grasped  its  leading  idea, 
they  will  not  be  able  to  summarize  its  contents  into 
a  single  sentence.  The  same  method  should  be 
adopted  with  succeeding  paragraphs,  and  then  the 
consecutive  ideas  should  be  linked  together  into  a 
suitable  summary  of  the  whole.  The  habit  of  doing 
this  will  not  come  bv  chance,  or  grow  of  its  own 

•/  * 

accord  ;   it  must  be  cultivated. 

In  addition  to  this,  children  must  be  encouraged 
to  ask  questions  and  to  criticize  printed  statements. 
They  should  not  be  allowed  to  take  a  thing  for  granted 
because  the  teacher  says  so,  or  because  they  have 
seen  it  '  in  print ' ;  they  should  be  taught  to  demand 
sufficient  reasons  why  things  are  so,  or  upon  what 
grounds  certain  statements  are  made. 

Children  should  also  be  taught  to  ponder  over 
what  they  read.  Ideas  should  be  turned  over  and 
over  in  their  minds  ;  they  should  not  be  allowed  to 
jump  from  one  idea  to  another  without  thought ; 
that  way  lies  confusion.  They  must  look  at  an  idea 
from  various  points  of  view,  think  about  it,  discuss 
it,  and  then  it  will  not  only  become  their  own,  but 
it  will  often  give  rise  to  a  succession  of  ideas  that  will 
be  of  great  value. 

A  great  deal  of  unprofitable  reading  is 
Reading  d°nc  ™  these  days.  Books  are  obtained 

from  the  Free  Libraries,  sometimes  one 
or  two  in  a  week  ;  they  are  rapidly  devoured  and  as 


READING.  89 

rapidly  forgotten.  These  books  usually  possess  some 
dramatic  interest,  but  little  that  will  be  of  permanent 
value.  This  is  a  matter  which  ought  to  receive 
attention  in  the  elementary  school.  Failure  to  do 
this  frequently  causes  children  and  others  to  fly  to 
ephemeral  literature  that  needs  little  or  no  mental 
effort,  rather  than  to  works  of  solid  worth. 

Children  must  be  taught  to  read  sentences  care- 
fully, even  such  as  contain  several  subordinate 
clauses  and  are  rather  lengthy  ;  they  must  get  the 
cencral  idea  fixed  in  their  minds,  and  be  able  to 
tell  its  content. 

Plenty  of  practice  must  be  given  in  reading 
and  grasping  such  sentences,  and  children  must  be 
trained  to  use  thought  and  imagination  during  the 
operation,  so  that  no  sentence  be  slipped  as  being 
useless  ;  they  must  see  that  each  one  represents 
some  particular  thought  which  must  be  grasped 
and  understood.  In  this  way.  what  is  read  will  be 
assimilated,  and  the  habit  once  formed  will  be  the 
means  of  acquiring  the  leading  ideas  in  any  book 
that  may  be  rather  difficult. 

The     following     points    should    in    turn 

receive    the    teacher's    careful    attention. 

F-I  i  11 

Reading.        When   any   one   ot   them   is    being   dealt 

with—  and  one  is  quite  sufficient  for  any 
single  lesson  —  the  oral  reading  should  be  preceded 
by  practice  exercises  on  the  blackboard  illustrating 
the  point  under  consideration.  These  will  also  serve 
to  draw  the  attention  of  the  children  to  the  main 
aim  of  the  lesson. 

(a)  Pronunciation  :  —  This  depends  mainly  upon 
sounding  the  vowels  correctly. 


in 


90  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

(b)  Enunciation : — Depends     upon     the     correct 
sounding  of  consonants. 

(c)  Articulation  : — The     proper     fitting     of     one 
syllable   into   another.     This   depends   largely   upon 
enunciation  ;    and  if  the  children  are  slovenly,  care- 
less,   or   inattentive,    it   usually   shows   itself    here, 
as  witness  what  the    chemist's    boy   said   when   he 
first   looked   round  the   shop — "  Wha'    a   lo'  o'   lill 
bockles  !  " 

(d)  Pitch  : — This  is  often  too  high  ;    the  children 
must  be  taught  to  read  in  a  natural  tone  of  voice. 

(e)  Modulation  : — i.e.,    variation    in    pitch.     The 
value  of  this  can  be  shown  bv  contrasting;  it  with 

V  O 

monotone. 

(/)  Pace : — This  is  always  determined  by  the 
subject  matter ;  it  should  never  be  fast,  and  never 
drawling. 

(g)  Emphasis  : — This  is  used  to  impress  by  con- 
trast some  particular  statement  upon  the  listener. 
There  must  be  clear  understanding  behind  it.  It 
can  best  be  taught  by  taking  a  suitable  sentence  and 
showing  that  a  different  answer  is  required  when  the 
emphasis  is  laid  on  a  different  word ;  e.g.  : — 

(1)  Did  you  walk  to  town  to-day  ? 

No.    I  changed  my  mind  about  going. 

(2)  Did  you  walk  to  town  to-day  ? 

No.     I  sent  my  sister. 

(3)  Did  you  walk  to  town  to-day  ? 

No.     I  went  by  tramcar. 

(4)  Did  you  walk  to  town  to-day  ? 

No.     I  went  into  the  country. 

(5)  Did  you  walk  to  town  to-day  ? 

No.     I  went  yesterday. 
(h)  Phrasing  : — i.e.,  the  proper  grouping  of  words 


READING.  91 

to  convey  ideas.  This  depends  upon  understanding 
the  piece,  and  knowing  something  of  punctuation. 

(i)  Fluency  :  —  To  secure  this  the  words  must  be 
recognized  at  sight  and  easily  spoken  ;  the  eye  must 
run  on  in  advance,  and  the  mind  must  grasp  the 
sense  of  the  passage  at  the  same  time.  Let  the 
children  know  that  fluency  and  rapidity  are  not 
synonymous  terms. 

(j)  Expression  :  —  This  is  the  highest  quality  of 
good  reading  ;  it  is  much  more  than  emphasis.  To 
secure  right  expression  the  reader  must  enter  into 
the  spirit  of  the  author  and  interpret  his  mood  and 
his  mind.  He  must  feel  the  sentiments  and  emotions 
of  the  piece  ;  the  '  heart  '  must  come  into  use  as  well 
as  the  '  head.'  This  quality  can  best  be  cultivated 
by  studying,  learning,  and  reciting  high-class  selec- 
tions of  poetry. 

In  the  upper  classes  lessons  resolve  them- 
Reading        selves  mainly  into  (1)  information  lessons, 
anc^          elocution  lessons.      For  informa- 


Classes.  tion  lessons  the  teacher  should  give  a 
brief  and  suitable  introduction,  deal  with 
new  words  or  phrases  and  their  meaning,  and  then 
there  should  be  silent  reading  by  the  children,  ques- 
tions being  allowed  by,  and  explanations  given  to, 
individuals  while  it  is  going  on.  Later  there  should 
be  oral  questions  on  the  matter  read,  or  several 
children  should  be  called  upon  to  give  a  connected 
account  of  certain  parts.  Occasionally,  notes  should 
be  taken,  or  paragraphs  summarized. 

For  elocution  lessons,  a  piece  should  be  chosen 
that  has  been  read  before,  so  that  difficult  words 
will  be  known  and  no  textual  explanations  will  be 


92  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

needed.  It  should  be  preceded  by  vocal  drill,  and 
the  aim  of  the  teacher  should  be  to  deal  with  one 
particular  point  at  a  time ;  e.g.,  enunciation,  or 
phrasing.  There  should  be  occasional  pattern  reading 
by  the  teacher,  and  as  much  individual  reading  aloud 
as  time  will  permit.  It  must  never  be  forgotten  that 
reading  must  be  taught,  not  merely  heard. 

In  all  reading  lessons,  except  those  taken  for 
purely  elocutionary  purposes,  maps,  blackboard 
sketches,  and  specimens  should  be  used  wherever 
possible. 

Some  of  the  information  lessons  should  also  be 
first  dealt  with  by  allowing  individual  children  to  read 
aloud  under  guidance  ;  especially  will  this  be  the  case 
with  English  classical  prose  and  poetry.  Here  the 
teacher  will  read  long  selections  himself,  and  then 
call  upon  separate  children  to  read  a  portion  each. 
He  will  deal  with  everything  of  note  in  each  para- 
graph as  it  is  read ;  pronunciation,  enunciation, 
punctuation,  emphatic  words,  metaphorical  language, 
reason  for  variation  of  pitch  and  pace,  biographical, 
historical,  geographical,  scientific,  and  other  allusions. 

These  lessons,  in  addition  to  their  intrinsic  value, 
will  teach  the  children  how  to  proceed  during  their 
silent  reading  lessons. 

Silent  reading  affords  a  valuable  training 
Reading  *n  menta^  concentration.  By  this  method 

children  obtain  information  for  them- 
selves ;  there  is  also  more  pleasure  in  it  than  in  the 
ordinary  type  of  reading  lesson,  because  there  is  less 
restriction.  Let  the  children  read  their  story  books, 
and  public  library  or  school  library  books  in  their 
spare  moments  ;  this  will  be  found  much  more  useful 


READING.  93 

and  enjoyable  than  sitting  still  with  hands  behind 
or  arms  folded  staring  into  space,  or  even  playing 
and  talking  for  want  of  better  employment.  Occa- 
sionally let  them  take  notes,  or  summarize  a  chapter 
when  reading  history,  geography,  or  nature  know- 
ledge ;  if  they  are  reading  a  story  book,  or  a  play, 
let  them  set  down  the  main  qualities  of  one  of  the 
chief  characters,  or  give  a  descriptive  account  of 
some  particular  incident. 

Always,  when  the  pupils  are  reading  for  definite 
information,  the  teacher  must  set  the  exact  amount 
of  work  to  be  done.  If  a  number  of  questions  on 
the  subject-matter  are  written  on  the  blackboard, 
they  will  guide  the  children  as  to  which  are  the  most 
important  parts,  and  will  make  the  acquisition  more 
definite,  and  therefore  more  lasting.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  lesson  these  questions  should  be  answered 
orally  by  different  children  as  a  test  of  what  has  been 
done.  In  this  way  they  will  acquire  the  habit  of 
reading  to  some  purpose,  rather  than  rushing  through 
a  book  and  forgetting  all  about  it  in  a  week  or  two. 

The  correct  use  of  the  aspirate  still 
Aspirate  demands  attention  in  speaking  and  read- 
ing, its  proper  use  or  misuse  being  regarded 
as  one  of  the  indications  of  culture  or  the  lack  of  it. 
Children  must  be  taught  to  use  it  mechanically  and 
easily ;  too  much  stress  on  it  is  as  faulty  as  its 
omission. 

In  many  cases  where  it  is  not  the  initial  letter 
it  is  not  sounded  at  all,  as  in  '  Nottingham/  '  Totten- 
ham,' 'Durham,'  'exhibit,'  'shepherd.'  Of  course, 
in  names  like  '  Wolverhampton '  it  is  still  sounded. 
In  words  beginning  with  '  wh,'  where  the  '  w '  is 


94  MODERN    IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

sounded,  as  in  '  where,'  '  which,'  '  when,'  '  whither,' 
it  is  now  not  unusual  to  omit  the  sounded  aspirate  ; 
where  the  'w'  is  silent,  the  'h'  is  always  sounded, 
as  in  '  who,'  '  whole.'  In  a  few  words  where  it  is 
the  initial  letter  it  is  silent,  e.g.,  'heir,'  'hour,' 
'  honour,'  '  honest,'  and  words  derived  from  them. 
In  'humble,'  'humour,'  and  'hostler,'  it  is  now  usual 
to  sound  it. 

Where  the  use  of  the  aspirate  is  faulty,  practice 

exercises  should  frequently  be  given ;    for  example, 

'  When  he  reaches  manhood  he  and  his  adherents 

will  show  more  honour  and  less  humour  towards 

human  beings." 

These  can  be  repeated  by  different  children  prior 
to  an  oral  reading  lesson,  and  will  prove  very  helpful 
in  producing  the  desired  result. 

Do  not  allow  children  to  raise  their  hands 
whenever  they  think  a  mistake  has  been 
Reading.  made  by  a  child  who  is  reading.  This 
practice  upsets  the  reader  and  transfers 
the  thoughts  of  the  children  from  the  subject-matter 
of  the  piece  to  some  trivial  error.  Moreover,  it 
breeds  a  spirit  of  fault-finding  which  is  very  objec- 
tionable. Occasionally  allow  children  to  indicate 
any  plain  error  when  the  other  child  has  finished 
reading ;  but  as  a  rule  make  the  corrections  your- 
self, especially  if  you  are  teaching  one  of  the  lower 
classes. 

The  usual  plan  of  having  three  or  four 
complete  sets  of  readers  in  each  class 
should  be  abandoned.  One  complete  set 

of  literary   readers    for   class   teaching  is  sufficient. 

In  addition  to  these  there  should  be  about  six  books 


READING.  95 

of  a  kind  in  the  lower  classes,  and  books  all  different 
in  the  upper  classes.  This  will  provide  for  a  great 
number  and  variety  of  books  for  the  children  to  read 
at  no  greater  cost  than  that  of  complete  sets. 

In  the  lower  classes,  where  all  the  mechanical 
difficulties  have  not  been  mastered,  the  teacher  can 
take  half-a-dozen  children  at  a  time,  while  the  others 
read  to  themselves.  In  the  upper  classes,  the  teacher 
passes  round  during  the  silent  reading,  asks  a  few 
questions  here  and  there  to  see  that  the  reading  is 
being  properly  done,  makes  any  explanations  asked 
for,  and  gets  to  know  why  the  pupils  like  certain 
books,  and  what  their  opinions  are  of  any  of  the 
various  characters.  In  this  way  the  children  will  be 
introduced  to  a  large  number  of  excellent  books  and 
poems,  and  a  real  taste  for  reading  \\  ill  be  created. 


96 

CHAPTER  III. 
SPELLING. 

UNDUE    importance    was    given    to    this 
subject    in    the    past ;    now    there    is    a 
tendency    to    neglect    it.     But    amongst 
Spelling.        outsiders,   at  any  rate,   inability  to  spell 
correctly    is    looked    upon    as    a    sign    of 
neglected  education,  and  a  letter  containing  errors 
in  spelling  always  gives  a  bad  impression. 

Spelling  is  harder  than  reading,  because  no 
matter  how  irregular  the  word  may  be,  each  letter 
in  the  word  has  to  be  remembered  in  its  correct 
order ;  whereas,  in  reading,  the  appearance  of  the 
word  as  a  whole  recalls  its  sound. 

Spelling  depends  largely  upon  the  memory  ;  the 
eye  must  observe  the  exact  form  of  the  word,  and 
the  picture  must  be  retained  in  the  memory  for 
future  use.  A  good  speller  has  a  quick  eye  for  form, 
and  is  nearly  always  good  at  drawing,  for  spelling 
is  really  memory  drawing  of  pictures  of  words,  and 
therefore  it  will  have  to  be  learnt  by  practice  in 
drawing  the  word  forms  correctly,  i.e.,  in  writing 
them.  Pupils  who  are  weak  in  drawing  will 
probably  learn  to  spell  more  readily  through  the 
ear  than  through  the  eye. 

The  power  to  spell  is  acquired  by  doing  rather 
than  by  describing.  Spelling  aloud  or  sotto  voce  is  of 
some  value,  as  it  helps  the  eye  to  recognize  the  form, 
and  probably  to  retain  it ;  but  with  most  children  it 
should  be  secondary  in  its  use  to  writing. 


SPELLING.  97 

The  power  to  spell  should  be  acquired  when  the 
memory  is  most  retentive,  i.e.,  up  to  the  age  of 
eleven  or  twelve.  A  young  child  is  not  so  alive  to 
the  anomalies  in  words  as  we  are,  and  so  will  learn 
to  spell  with  far  more  ease  than  we  are  able  to  do. 

The  following  are  useful  aids  to  spelling  : — 

(1)  Reading.     When    a    child    frequently    meets 
with  the  same  word,  its  form  is  impressed  on  the 
memory  through  the  eye.     Good  reading  and  correct 
spelling  usually  go  together.     The  slurring  of  words 
and  syllables  is  a  great  hindrance  to  correct  spelling  ; 
hence  the  necessity  of  clear  pronunciation,  enuncia- 
tion, and  articulation,  in  reading  and  speaking. 

(2)  Word-building.     Some  words  present  no  diffi- 
culty, if  children  are  early  taught  to  give  the  sound- 
values  of  letters.     In  the  lower  classes  most  of  the 
time  should  be  spent  with  regular  forms.     A  few 
irregular  forms  must  be  learnt  even  by  children  in 
the  lowest  class  before  they  are  able  to  write  a  sentence 
correctly  ;    for  example,    '  was,'    '  should,'    '  ought,' 
'  said,'   etc.      These  must  be  written  over  and  over 
again  until  they  are  well  known.     As  soon  as  a  word 
is  known  at  sight,  a  child,  if  it  does  not  already  do 
so,  should  be  encouraged  to  use  it  as  part  of  its  own 
regular  vocabulary.     Occasionally,    words    such    as 
'  saw,'  '  was,'  '  from,'  '  form,'  etc.,  should  be  grouped 
together  to  show  contrast,  and  then  thoroughly  learnt. 

(3)  Transcription.     This    should    be    used    con- 
stantly as  an  aid  to  correct  spelling.     The  act  of 
writing  a  word  compels  the  eye  to  note  each  letter 
carefully  as  well  as  the  order  of  the  letters.     It  is 
the  only  means  of  learning  irregular  words.     When 
dealing  with  these,  the  same  word  should  be  used 
again  and  again  in  different  sentences  until  its  form 


98  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

is  impressed  on  the  memory.  -  All  copying  of  words 
and  sentences  must  be  very  carefully  supervised  ; 
otherwise,  the  exercise  may  be  doing  more  harm 
than  good.  So  far  as  is  possible  to  prevent  it,  children 
should  never  be  allowed  to  see  any  incorrect  forms 
of  words  ;  the  correct  forms  should  be  so  impressed 
on  their  memory  that  they  can  be  reproduced  auto- 
matically. A  well-graded  course  of  instruction  such 
as  is  given  in  the  Author's  New  English  Course* 
for  the  standards,  is  the  best  way  to  success. 

Let  us  remember  that  spelling  is  not  an  end  in 
itself  ;  it  is  only  a  means  to  an  end.  It  is  necessary 
to  spell  only  what  has  to  be  written.  Children  in 
the  upper  classes  should  be  trained  to  use  a  dictionary, 
and  should  be  allowed  to  use  it  whenever  they  want 
to  know  the  spelling  or  meaning  of  a  word. 

Do  not  waste  time  in  teaching  the  spelling 
of  °^  nard  words  from  the  reading  books  ; 
New  Words,  most  of  them  will  never  be  used  by  the 

children  either  in  speaking  or  writing. 
Reading  is  a  much  easier  process  than  spelling,  and 
children  ought  not  to  be  held  back  in  order  to  teach 
spelling  instead  of  reading.  Words  which  come,  or 
ought  to  come,  within  the  pupil's  vocabulary,  should 
be  taught  systematically.  When  words  have  been 
learnt  the  teacher  should  insist  on  their  use  in  oral 
work  and  written  composition.  If  they  are  not  used 
they  will  very  soon  be  forgotten,  and  then  the  time 
taken  up  in  learning  to  spell  them  will  have  been 
wasted.  If  the  children  make  use  of  the  new  words 
a  few  times,  they  will  become  incorporated  in  their 
speaking  and  writing  vocabulary. 

*  Published  by  E.  J.  Arnold  &  Son,  Ltd. 


SPELLING.  99 

Encourage  children  to  discover  new  words  for 
themselves,  find  out  their  meaning  from  the  dic- 
tionary, and  learn  to  spell  them.  A  little  commenda- 
tion bestowed  on  the  children  who  show  an  extended 
vocabulary  will  go  a  long  way  to  stimulate  the  others. 

As  a  variation  of  the  ordinary  spelling  lesson, 
give  notice  that,  when  the  next  lesson  comes  round, 
children  will  be  asked  to  come  to  the  blackboard  and 
write  down  one  new  word  they  have  learnt ;  every- 
body will  be  expected  to  have  one  ready.  They  will 
be  found  to  take  up  -with  the  idea  eagerly  ;  and, 
when  the  time  comes,  each  one  will  write  down  his 
or  her  word  correctly,  and  be  proud  of  it.  In  this 
way  a  large  number  of  new  words  will  be  learnt, 
and  if  the  teacher  insists  that  the  one  who  writes  a 
word  must  be  able  to  use  it,  the  vocabulary  of  the 
children  will  be  permanently  enlarged. 

When  children  are  learning  to  spell,  care 
and*  ing  must  be  taken  that  they  say  the  words 
Spelling.  correctly.  For  beginners,  each  letter 

should  be  sounded  phonetically — a-n-d  ; 
b-u-t ;  and  practice  should  be  given  in  writing  down 
the  letters  according  to  sounds  ;  giving  names  to 
the  letters  may  be  left  to  a  later  stage.  The  young 
child's  difficulty  is  in  connecting  the  sound  of  the 
letter  with  its  form,  but  the  writing  down  of  the 
sound-forms  time  after  time  will  soon  help  him  to 
connect  the  two. 

When  words  of  more  than  one  syllable  are  intro- 
duced, it  is  equally  important  that  each  syllable 
should  be  pronounced  clearly  and  correctly.  Slovenly 
enunciation  is  responsible  for  a  good  deal  of  incorrect 
spelling.  There  is  no  need  in  any  of  the  lower  classes 


100  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

to  break  up  the  words  into  syllables  according  to  their 
derivation ;  the  syllabic  division  need  only  agree 
with  the  derivation  where  the  pronunciation  agrees 
with  it ;  otherwise  syllabic  division  may  be  a  hind- 
rance instead  of  a  help.  Hence,  we  should  divide 
into  '  ho-ping,'  not  '  hop-ing ' ;  '  li-king,'  not  '  lik-ing.' 
As  a  rule  the  syllabic  should  begin  with  a  consonant, 
not  with  a  vowel ;  if  a  child  spells  '  dropping ' 
with  one  '  p  '  let  him  write  it  in  syllables  according 
to  this  rule,  and  he  will  see  that  he  has  spelt 
'  dro-ping  '  instead  of  '  dropping.' 

In  the  case  of  catchy  words,  it  is  usually  one 
part  only  of  the  word  that  is  difficult.  This 
part  should  be  written  in  coloured  chalk  on  the 
blackboard,  and  underlined  in  the  child's  book ;  for 
example,  in  the  word  '  separate,'  the  difficulty  is  to 
remember  whether  to  put  '  a  '  or  '  e  '  after  the  '  p.5 
If  this  letter  be  put  in  red  chalk  on  the  blackboard, 
and  if  the  word  be  written  a  number  of  times  by 
the  child  and  the  letter  underlined,  it  will  be  readily 
remembered.  As  far  as  possible  do  not  let  a  young 
child  ever  see  a  word  that  is  incorrectly  spelt. 
Seeing  incorrect  forms,  when  the  correct  ones  are  not 
firmly  fixed  in  the  mind,  causes  constant  confusion 
and  uncertainty.  For  this  reason,  children  should 
not  be  asked  to  mark  their  neighbour's  spelling 
errors ;  let  them  mark  their  own  under  the  teacher's 
supervision. 

Some  years  ago,  codes  and  inspectors 
Spelling  demanded  correct  spelling  in  pieces  of 
and  61  ^  dictation  ;  this  gave  dictation  undeserved 
To-day.  prominence  in  the  school  curriculum,  and 

led  the  teacher  to  devote  far  more  time 


SPELLING.  101 

to  it  than  it  was  worth.  Composition  has  wisely 
supplanted  dictation  in  all  the  classes  of  the  school ; 
but  teachers  must  not,  therefore,  conclude  that 
spelling  is  of  little  importance. 

Correct  spelling  is  as  necessary  in  written  com- 
position and  letter  writing  as  it  was  in  dictation. 
The  difference  lies  in  the  fact  that,  whereas  in  former 
days  children  had  to  learn  to  spell  all  sorts  of  words, 
many  of  which  they  would  never  think  of  using,  and 
the  meaning  of  which  was  as  Greek  to  them,  now 
the  words  to  be  spelt  correctly  come  within  the  scope 
of  their  comprehension  and  their  writing  vocabulary, 
an  alteration  which  makes  the  teaching  very  much 
more  limited  and  consequently  easier.  Of  course, 
new  words  constantly  have  to  be  introduced  to 
enlarge  the  child's  vocabulary,  and  so  give  it  better 
and  more  numerous  instruments  with  which  to 
express  its  thoughts  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  these  should  be 
taken  as  the  necessity  arises  ;  their  meaning  should 
be  fully  illustrated  and  known,  and  children  should 
be  encouraged  to  use  the  new  words  whenever  pos- 
sible, until  they  become  part  of  their  regular  writing 
and  speaking  vocabulary. 

Dictation  should  be  given  only  after 
Lessons'1  plen"ty  °f  transcription,  and  should  be 
confined  to  testing  what  has  been  learnt. 
It  should  be  used  only  occasionally,  and  never  just 
after  learning  certain  words,  as  that  is  no  real  test 
of  retention.  Its  only  use  is  to  find  out  what  needs 
most  practice. 

Dictate  once  only  as  a  rule.     It  is  possible  to  get 
into  the  habit  of  repeating  a  phrase  three  or  four 
times  in  an  unnatural,  stilted  tone,  which  is  never 
H 


102  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

done  in  business  circles,  and  even  then  some  one  will 
ask  for  the  phrase  to  be  repeated  again.  Children 
must  be  trained  to  listen.  Allow  no  guessing  as  to 
how  a  word  should  be  spelt ;  if  a  child  does  not  know 
it,  tell  him  to  leave  a  blank. 

Correction  and  the  re -writing  of  errors  must 
always  follow  the  dictation  lesson.  Do  not  tell 
children  to  write  out  corrected  errors  three  times 
each,  or  four  times  each ;  that  can  be  done  only  on 
the  assumption  that  all  the  words  are  of  the  same 
difficulty  to  each  individual,  which  is  never  the  case. 
Some  words  may  need  to  be  written  once  only  ;  others 
may  require  repeating  a  dozen  or  twenty  times.  Each 
word  should  be  written  until  it  is  known,  and  then 
should  be  tested  orally  by  the  teacher. 


103 

CHAPTEE  IV. 
COMPOSITION. 

MANY  are  the  complaints  in  these  days 
that  boys  and  girls  cannot  write  a  simple 
letter    correctly.     The    complaint    is    not 
sition.  confined  to  the  older  children  in  element- 

ary schools,  but  includes  also  those  in 
secondary  schools.  The  root-cause  is  nearly  always 
a  lack  of  power  to  use  the  mother  tongue  orally,  with 
readiness,  breadth,  and  ability  ;  and  so  long  as  that 
obtains,  written  composition  will  be  at  fault. 

This  latter  exercise  does  not  consist  merely  of 
correct  spelling,  punctuation,  and  good  handwriting  ; 
at  the  back  of  it  all  there  must  be  a  store  of  ideas, 
and  the  writer  must  have  at  his  command  suitable 
words  to  express  those  ideas.  It  is  a  waste  of  time 
to  ask  a  child  to  talk  about,  or  write  about,  a  subject 
of  which  he  is  almost  entirely  ignorant.  Children 
must  be  advised  regarding  the  sources  of  informa- 
tion ;  subjects  must  be  discussed  in  class  and  with 
individual  scholars  ;  a  study  of  the  modes  of  expres- 
sion of  trained  literary  men  and  women  must  be 
undertaken,  and  the  value  and  force  of  particular 
words  and  phrases  must  be  considered. 

Lessons  on  these  lines  will  awaken  interest,  and 
give  delight ;  they  will  produce  intellectual  vigour 
and  independent  thought  and  criticism,  and  will 
aid  in  giving  an  intelligent  grasp  of  the  problems  of 
life. 


104  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

The  power  of  expression  is  a  form  of  skill, 
Thought  an(j  must  be  cultivated.  It  may  be  either 

pvn  ,«;«„  vocal  or  written,  and  both  kinds  should 
Expression  .  ... 

in  Compo-  be  cultivated  together.  Composition  is 
sition.  not  form  only  ;  there  must  be  clear  think- 

ing behind  it.  Exact  expression  can  only 
come  of  clear,  correct  thinking.  There  may  be  clear 
thinking  without  exact  expression,  because  the  latter 
is  only  possible  through  living  in  an  atmosphere  of 
correct  oral  language.  To  cultivate  exact  expres- 
sion, a  good  vocabulary  must  be  acquired  by  social 
intercourse  and  extensive  reading,  and  something 
must  be  known  of  sentence  construction,  paragraph- 
ing, and  punctuation. 

Clear  thinking  and  exact  expression  are  not 
natural  endowments.  Some  people  are  always 
ambiguous  in  their  statements,  as  is  frequently  seen 
in  political  speeches  and  newspaper  correspondence. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  paying  attention  to  thought 
and  expression,  not  only  in  the  composition  lesson 
proper,  but  in  all  lessons. 

A  careful  study  of  good  models  is  of  more  value 
than  the  excessive  writing  of  exercises.  Reading 
and  literature  lessons  should  be  largely  used  for  this 
purpose.  They  quicken  the  imagination,  give  new 
ideas,  enlarge  the  vocabulary,  and  style  is  uncon- 
sciously learned  from  them.  Language,  spoken  and 
written,  is  largely  imitative,  and  good  models  of 
both  are  very  necessary  to  counteract  the  influence 
of  the  street,  and  sometimes  of  the  home. 

Real  The  old-time    methods  will  not  produce 

Composi-  real  composition  ;  they  may  exercise  the 
tion.  memory  and  improve  the  imitative  powers, 


COMPOSITION.  105 

but  they  will  never  secure  originality.  The  teacher 
who  discusses  every  aspect  and  detail  of  the 
subject,  makes  a  careful  outline  on  the  black- 
board, questions  the  class  thoroughly  to  see  if  his 
teaching  has  gone  home,  will  probably  succeed  in 
producing  some  very  creditable  and  readable  exer- 
cises, but  they  are  not  real  compositions  ;  for  in 
nearly  every  case  they  will  be  a  mosaic  of  the  teacher's 
mind  on  the  subject.  There  will  be  no  evidence  of 
individual  thought,  and  little,  if  any,  originality. 
Set  children  who  have  been  taught  on  these  lines 
to  write  a  letter  to  Uncle  Tom  in  Canada,  and  most 
of  the  time  will  be  spent  in  biting  the  end  of  the  pen- 
holder as  they  are  trying  to  find  out  what  to  say. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  teacher  who  merely 
announces  the  subject,  and  then  tells  the  children 
to  proceed  with  the  written  work,  is  asking  for  bricks 
without  giving  straw,  and  he  will  find  that  the  pupil 
is  no  more  advanced  at  the  end  of  the  term  than  he 
was  at  the  beginning. 

If  composition  is  to  be  real,  there  must  be  plenty 
of  oral  work ;  it  is  as  necessary  in  the  upper  school 
as  in  the  lower.  The  power  of  expressing  one's  ideas 
in  a  pleasing  and  correct  manner  can  be  largely 
acquired  ;  but  the  ideas  must  be  there  first.  Give 
the  children  a  few  days'  notice  of  the  subject,  so  that 
they  may  gather  ideas  ;  boys  and  girls  delight  to 
tell  of  things  they  have  found  out  for  themselves. 
When  the  lesson  comes  round,  let  them  have  ample 
opportunity  to  express  what  they  have  acquired. 

The  power  of  exact  oral  expression  is  of  use  in 
every  phase  of  social  and  public  life,  and  is  the  basis 
of  good  written  composition.  Choose  suitable  selec- 
tions from  Raskin,  R.  L.  Stevenson,  and  similar 


106  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

authors  ;  have  the  words,  the  figures  of  speech,  and 
the  arrangement  of  phrases  and  sentences  critically 
examined,  to  discover  where  the  power  and  the 
beauty  lie.  Occasional!}7'  give  a  subject,  and  ask 
the  children  to  write  as  many  expressive  statements 
as  they  can  about  it.  For  example, 

The  moon — gleamed  o'er  the  waters  of  the  bay. 
—thrust  her  pale  beams  between  the 
towering  trees. 

Let  them  also  do  plenty  of  letter-writing,  not 
always  in  applying  for  a  situation,  or  in  ordering 
goods,  but  in  actually  answering  any  advertisements 
in  the  local  paper,  and  in  writing  friendly  epistles 
to  a  school  chum.  When  these  are  read  aloud  there 
will  be  variety  of  idea  and  of  expression.  Some- 
times let  the  pupils  write  a  story  in  chapters,  such 
as  may  occupy  half-a-dozen  pages  of  an  exercise 
book.  Choose  the  best  four  or  five  to  be  read  aloud, 
and  let  the  children  decide  which  shall  be  considered 
the  best  of  all.  The  boy  who  has  written  it  may  be 
allowed  to  take  it  home  for  the  enjoyment  of  his 
parents. 

Taken  in  this  way,  the  composition  lessons  will 
be  looked  forward  to  with  interest ;  there  will  be 
willing  effort  and  a  good  deal  of  originality,  and 
consequently  there  will  be  brain  exercise,  producing 
mental  development  and  general  progress. 

One  of  the  main  objects  of  the  English 
s  °°  kin  lesson  is  to  teach  children  how  to  express 

their  ideas.  They  all  have  some  ideas 
about  things,  but  their  difficulty  usually  is  to  find 
words  to  express  those  ideas.  To  remedy  this,  the 
teacher  must  aim  at  getting  the  children  interested 


COMPOSITION.  107 

in  words  ;  lead  them  to  see  their  beauty  and  value, 
and,  by  comparing  one  word  with  another,  help  them 
to  see  how  certain  words  express  more  exactly  and 
more  beautifully  what  is  meant  than  other  words 
do.  This  can  only  be  taught  orally.  It  is  only 
when  words  are  spoken  that  their  power  and  beauty 
are  fully  revealed.  In  the  upper  classes  selections 
from  the  best  authors  can  be  given  by  the  teacher ; 
the  beautiful  words  and  phrases  can  be  noted  and 
talked  about,  and  children  can  be  encouraged  to  use 
them. 

One  of  the  best  methods  of  teaching  young  chil- 
dren how  to  express  themselves  readily  and  clearly 
is  story-telling.  The  fairy  tale,  wonder  tale,  and 
folk  tale  have  been  the  instruments  of  intelligent 
parents  for  generations  past.  The  normal  child 
loves  a  tale  as  much  as  it  loves  sweets.  It  will  listen 
to  the  same  tale  told  over  and  over  again,  and  then 
ask  for  another  repetition.  Not  only  does  the  child 
love  to  hear  of  '  Little  Red  Riding  Hood,'  '  The 
Three  Bears,'  and  '  Jack  and  the  Beanstalk,'  but 
it  loves  to  tell  the  tales  to  somebody  else.  It  natur- 
ally follows  that  if  the  parent  or  teacher  uses  choice 
language  and  a  cultured  tone,  the  child  will  imitate 
her,  and  will  gradually  acquire  the  habit  of  using 
refined  and  elegant  English,  without  shyness  and 
without  hesitation. 

To  speak  the  mother  tongue  clearly,  pleasingly, 
and  in  a  way  that  is  easily  understood  is  one  of  the 
best  acquirements  for  anybody ;  and  if  teachers 
would  use  tales  and  other  interesting  episodes,  tell 
them,  let  children  talk  about  them  and  re-tell  them, 
there  would  be  less  cause  to  complain  of  the  tongue- 
tied  attitude  of  so  many  children  when  they  are 


108  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

spoken  to  by  a  visitor,  or  are  called  upon  to  explain 
the  whereabouts  of  some  place  to  a  stranger. 

On  another  occasion  the  teacher  may  tell  a  good 
story  suitable  for  dramatization.  Time  should  be 
given  for  the  children  to  think  about  it  and  prepare 
to  act  it,  the  teacher  giving  help  as  to  words  and 
expressions  asked  for.  Let  the  children  give  their 
own  version  of  the  s'tory  by  their  own  actions  and  in 
their  own  language.  The  acting  will  help  them  to 
put  their  thoughts  into  words,  and  so  will  cultivate 
the  power  of  expression.  If  subjects  arc  chosen  suit- 
able to  the  ages  of  the  children,  and  such  as  give 
plenty  of  scope  for  the  exercise  of  the  imagination, 
they  will  delight  in  finding  words  adequate  to  express 
their  ideas,  and  in  that  way  their  speech  will  tend  to 
become  lucid,  fluent,  and  accurate. 

Teachers  cannot  hope  or  desire  to  make 
Power  of  their  children  into  orators,  but  they  can 
Speech.  do  something  towards  cultivating  in  them 

a  clear,  simple,  and  ready  mode  of  speech. 
How  difficult  it  seems  for  the  average  Briton  to 
express  his  ideas  to  half-a-dozen  others  in  clear,  un- 
mistakable terms !  Even  Members  of  Parliament 
have  to  write  letters  to  the  Press  explaining  what 
they  meant,  or  did  not  mean,  in  a  recent  speech. 

Moreover,  what  a  place  of  silence  is  a  railway 
carriage  occupied  by  ordinary  people  !  They  will 
do  anything  rather  than  open  a  conversation.  The 
Englishman  is  very  much  behind  the  Continental 
or  the  American  in  the  ability  to  express  his  thoughts 
freely  and  clearly.  He  is  not  naturally  unconcerned 
about  everything  and  everybody,  although  appear- 
ances point  that  way ;  for  he  will  often  open  out 


COMPOSITION.  109 

with  warmth  and  vigour  among  his  own  particular 
friends.  He  is  terribly  afraid  of  making  an  error 
of  speech,  or  of  judgment,  and  of  being  laughed  at ; 
and  that  in  a  measure  accounts  for  his  taciturnity 
amongst  strangers. 

The  school  remedy  for  this  is  systematic  speech 
practice  in  all  classes ;  not  mere  questions  and 
answers,  but  two  or  three  minute  speeches  on  topics 
chosen  by  the  children  themselves.  Let  this  be 
taken,  and  accompanied  by  debates  in  the  upper 
classes,  and  the  next  generation  will  show  a  great 
improvement  in  the  power  of  speech. 

In  the  early  stages,  the  teacher  should 
the  Power6  no^  trouble  much  about  correct  speech ; 
of  Speech.  ne  must  be  satisfied  if  he  can  get  the  chil- 
dren to  give  ready  expression  to  their 
ideas ;  the  occasional  correction  of  a  glaring  error 
will  be  quite  sufficient.  The  best  way  to  loosen  the 
tongue  is  to  fire  the  imagination ;  this  can  be  done 
in  the  story  lesson,  and  then  the  oral  composition 
lesson  will  afford  an  opportunity  to  use  the  tongue. 

Let  the  children  come  to  the  front  of  the  class, 
one  at  a  time,  and  relate  a  story  or  part  of  a  story 
that  they  know.  Do  nob  have  the  same  story  tgld 
several  times  by  different  children.  When  a  story 
is  finished  the  interest  falls ;  moreover,  the  sub- 
sequent reproductions  are  apt  to  be  very  much  alike, 
and  their  repetition  only  causes  weariness. 

As  a  variation,  an  outline  story  should  be  put 
on  the  blackboard ;  for  example  :— 

Soldier — river — village — spy — escape. 

The  children  should  be  allowed  a  few  minutes  to 
think  it  over,  and  then  one  or  two  should  be  asked 


110  MODERN    IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

to  tell  the  story.  If  it  is  found  difficult,  the  teacher 
should  make  up  a  story  from  another  outline  to 
show  them  how  to  proceed.  In  this  way  a  number 
of  stories  can  be  taken  in  one  lesson,  and  plenty  of 
practice  given  in  speaking. 

Another  variation  is  to  divide  a  story  into 
chapters,  and  let  selected  children  take  a  chapter 
each  ;  all  the  teacher  need  do  at  the  beginning  is  to 
give  a  title  to  each  chapter  as  it  is  required.  Different 
children  may  be  allowed  to  give  their  ideas  as  to 
how  the  story  should  end ;  they  will  take  a  delight 
here  in  showing  their  independence  of  thought  and 
idea. 

These  methods  will  wonderfully  improve  the 
children's  powers  of  oral  expression,  and  will  have 
a  corresponding  effect  upon  the  written  composition. 

This  can  be  done  satisfactorily  only  by 
To  Secure  lessons  in  elocution.  There  will,  of  course, 
Co^ect  be  incidental  training  in  all  lessons  ;  but 
Utterance.  se^  lessons  with  the  special  aim  of  securing 
correct  pronunciation,  enunciation,  artic- 
ulation, pitch,  and  tone,  must  be  given,  if  the  subject 
is  to  be  dealt  with  thoroughly  and  successfully. 
Slovenly,  careless  speech,  or  such  as  is  muttered 
through  the  teeth  and  puts  an  uncalled-for  strain 
upon  the  listener,  is  annoying  and  objectionable. 

As  regards  the  teacher,  the  pedantic,  superior 
style,  and  the  dictatorial,  high-pitched,  loud  voice 
are  equally  objectionable.  The  quiet,  cultured, 
vibrant  tone  is  a  splendid  asset  for  any  teacher ;  it 
commands  the  attention  and  respect  of  the  outsider, 
and  is  a  valuable  example  for  the  children  in  the 
school.  Children  are  great  imitators ;  they  pick  up 


COMPOSITION.  Ill 

the  teacher's  style  and  accent  almost  unconsciously. 
If  this  is  worthy  of  imitation,  and  is  aided  by  special 
lessons  in  correct  utterance  and  in  the  proper  use  of 
the  voice,  good  results  are  sure  to  follow. 

Too  much  stress  must  not  be  laid  on  the 

necessity  of  doing  copper-plate  writing 
1  *n  composition  lessons.  The  writing 

should,  unquestionably,  be  easily  legible 
Lessons.  and  reasonably  neat.  But  when  a  teacher 

insists  upon  a  child  going  slowly  and 
laboriously,  making  each  letter  perfect  in  shape  and 
size,  he  is  subordinating  the  composition  exercise 
to  that  of  handwriting,  with  the  result  that 
the  exercises  look  well,  but  read  badly,  because 
thoughts  are  often  expressed  in  a  wooden,  mechanical 
way.  Some  teachers  argue  that  the  neatest  and  most 
careful  writer  usually  expresses  his  thoughts  best, 
and  in  the  most  logical  way.  One  has  only  to  apply 
this  test  to  any  of  our  well-known  authors  to  find 
that  it  is  not  true.  It  is  advisable  for  written  com- 
positions to  be  done  as  rapidly  as  is  consistent  with 
legibility. 

The  ordinary  use  of  the  apostrophe  pre- 

«f  ^0  sents  no  difficultv  ;    doubt  arises  when  it 

ot  tne  .  •  -i      r\t    •     • 

Apostrophe.  1S    employed    with    Christian    names    or 

surnames.  Should  we  write,  '  Charles' 
Wain,'  or  ' Charles's  Wain ' ;  'St.  James'  Square,' 
or  '  St.  James's  Square  ' ;  '  Moses'  rod,'  or  '  Moses's 
rod  '  ?  The  general  rule  is  that,  if  the  name  ends 
in  '  s,'  the  possessive  must  be  formed  by  adding 
another  *  s '  with  the  apostrophe.  Thus  we  write, 
and  say,  '  Jones's  book,'  '  Dickens's  Works,'  '  Cham- 


112  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

bers's  Journal.'  Ancient  names  ending  in  '  es ' 
(as  'Moses,'  'Ceres')  add  the  apostrophe  only;  thus 
we  say  '  Moses'  rod,'  not  sounding  another  '  s '  in 
addition  to  the  one  at  the  end  of  the  word,  and 
therefore  writing  the  apostrophe  only. 

Care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  children  use  the 
apostrophe  correctly  in  certain  common  contractions ; 
they  should  not  be  allowed  in  written  composition, 
except  in  the  conversational  portions.  In  such  words 
as  '  haven't,'  '  don't,'  '  wouldn't,'  the  apostrophe 
is,  of  course,  put  where  the  letter  is  omitted.  Pupils 
should  also  be  warned  against  using  it  where  it 
is  not  required ;  for  example,  '  your's,'  '  our's,' 
'  it's  '  ;  in  the  last  instance  it  is  admissible  only 
where  '  it's  '  is  used  for  '  it  is.' 

There  is  really  no  definite  rule  for  the 
use  of  the  hyphen  in  English,  and  teachers 
Hyphens.  must  be  guided  by  the  general  use  of  the 
word.  Where  two  words  are  used  as 
one,  and  are  pronounced  with  one  accent  only, 
they  should  be  joined  without  a  hyphen ;  for  ex- 
ample, '  grandmother,'  '  newspaper,'  '  strawberry,' 
'  blackboard,'  '  schoolmaster.'  But  note  that  we 
say  '  head  master '  with  a  similar  accent  on  each 
word ;  in  such  cases  the  words  may  be  joined  with 
a  hyphen,  or  left  as  separate  words.  Even  the 
standard  dictionaries  do  not  give  one  a  reliable  lead 
in  this  matter,  in  some,  the  practice  is  to  use  the 
hyphen  whenever  two  words  are  sufficiently  closely 
associated  to  warrant  it ;  in  others,  the  compilers 
frankly  state  their  preference  for  the  separate  words, 
or  for  the  single  word,  and  put  their  preference  into 
practice,  using  the  hyphen  only  in  such  cases  as  are 


COMPOSITION.  113 

sanctioned  by  long  and  general  usage.  Instances 
of  such  words  are  '  cherry-tree,'  '  india-rubber.' 

The  hyphen  is  inserted  where  two  similar  vowels 
come  together,  e.g.,  '  co-operate,'  '  re-engage  ' ;  if 
the  vowels  are  unlike,  the  hyphen  is  usually  omitted, 
e.g.,  '  reinvigorate,'  '  coeval.' 

Children  should  be  warned  against  splitting  up  a 
word  in  any  way  that  suits  them,  with  part  on  one 
line  and  the  remainder  on  the  next.  Some  will  even 
put  '  wit '  on  one  line,  and  '  h '  on  the  next.  If 
any  splitting  is  allowed,  it  should  be  done  according 
to  the  rules  of  derivation  or  pronunciation,  or  not 
at  all.  It  is  advisable  not  to  permit  young  children 
to  break  a  word  at  the  end  of  a  line  ;  if  there  is  not 
room  for  the  whole  word,  let  it  be  written  on  the 
following  line. 

Correct  punctuation  is  one  of  those 
things  often  talked  about  but  rarely  seen, 
at  least  in  the  exercises  of  school 
children.  The  ancients  did  without  it ;  an  omission 
that  makes  it  so  hard  for  modern  scholars  to  trans- 
late the  old  manuscripts  correctly.  Punctuation 
as  we  have  it  did  not  come  into  use  until  the 
days  of  Henry  VII.  ;  before  that  time  reading  aloud 
was  almost  unknown.  The  children  will  be  able 
better  to  realize  the  value  of  separated  words  and 
punctuation  marks,  if  the  teacher  puts  on  the  black- 
board a  paragraph  in  which  no  spaces  are  left  between 
the  words,  and  no  capital  letters  or  punctuation  marks 
of  any  kind  are  inserted,  and  then  calls  upon  one  or 
two  of  the  children  to  read  it  aloud.  This  will  help 
them  to  appreciate  the  value  of  the  modern  style 
better  than  any  lengthy  explanations. 


114  MODERN    IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

If  a  few  longer  unpunctuated  pieces  are  given, 
where,  of  course,  the  words  are  separated,  the  chil- 
dren will  usually  find  out  for  themselves  where  the 
punctuation  marks  and  capital  letters  are  needed. 
They  will  notice  those  places  where  the  pitch  of  the 
voice  is  lowered,  and  will  associate  that  with  the 
semi-colon  and  full  stop.  There  will  be  other  places 
where  they  will  need  to  ask  a  question  or  to  take 
breath  ;  and  here  they  will  see  the  use  of  the  question 
mark  and  the  comma.  Children  will  be  found  to 
learn  and  to  remember  the  use  of  punctuation  marks 
better  by  this  method  than  by  any  other. 

It  is  unreasonable  of  a  teacher  to  expect 
Perfect  _  ^he  children  of  anv  class  in  an  elementary 
tionsfnot  scn°°l  to  produce  perfect  compositions. 
Possible.  Of  course,  compositions,  beautifully 

written,  correct  in  punctuation,  spelling, 
grammar,  and  even  phraseology  can  be  produced  in 
all  the  upper  classes,  but  every  practical  teacher 
knows  that  it  is  not  the  pupil's  unaided  work.  It 
may  look  neat  and  presentable,  but  it  is  of  far  less 
value  to  the  child  than  one  that  contains  a  number 
of  errors,  if  the  composition  is  his  own  production. 
Composition  that  is  a  mere  imitation  of  the  teacher's 
work  is  of  very  little  value,  no  matter  how  nice  it 
may  look.  The  value  of  the  exercise  lies  in  the 
practice  it  gives  the  child  in  the  use  of  its  own  brains, 
and  the  opportunity  it  affords  for  the  development 
of  its  own  ideas.  To  make  children  into  automatic 
machines  for  the  sake  of  showing  a  beautiful  set  of 
books  is  a  course  of  action  to  be  condemned  ;  rather 
should  the  teacher's  object  be  to  produce  self-reliant, 
intelligent  beings  ;  and  these  can  be  produced  only 


COMPOSITION.  115 

when  they  are  given  abundant  opportunities  for  self- 
development  under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher. 

In  dealing  with  errors  we  must  attend  to 
and°their  ^ie  ^orm  as  we^  as  the  ma-tter.  Time 
Correction,  should  be  spent  in  discussing  the  claims 
of  various  words,  phrases,  and  expressions. 
This  is  of  far  more  value  than  talking  to  the  class 
about  "  common  errors,"  which,  as  a  rule,  are  not 
"  common  "  at  all.  Never  waste  the  time  of  the 
class  by  talking  about  an  error  that  has  been  made 
by  half-a-dozen  children  :  call  those  who  have  made 
the  error  to  your  desk,  or  to  the  blackboard,  and 
talk  it  over  with  them.  Errors  that  are  likely  to 
be  common  should  be  guarded  against  by  referring 
to  the  correct  form  when  the  preliminary  instruction 
is  being  given  ;  errors  actually  made  should  be  dis- 
cussed with  the  individual  who  has  made  them. 

The  best  plan  is  to  mark  the  exercise  in  the  child's 
presence,  and  to  use  a  system  of  marking  that  causes 
a  child  to  make  the  first  corrections  himself.  (See 
"  A.L."  New  English  Course,  Teachers'  Book  IV., 
page  38.) 

Children  should  be  trained  always  to  read  through 
a  letter  or  composition  carefully  before  handing  it 
in  as  finished  ;  criticism  of  their  own  work  is  always 
valuable.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  put  aside  a  set  of 
compositions  occasionally,  say  for  a  month,  and  then 
bring  them  out  and  let  the  children  correct  their 
own.  They  will  be  amused  at  some  of  the  mistakes 
they  have  made  ;  and  when  they  find  them  out  in 
this  way,  they  are  not  likely  to  be  made  again.  Of 
course,  the  teacher  will  finally  supervise  all  children's 
corrections. 


116  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

Incorrect  parts  should  be  written  correctly  by 
the  children  themselves,  usually  underneath  the 
completed  exercise  ;  if  errors  are  numerous,  the  whole 
exercise  should  be  re -written.  The  teacher  should 
make  it  a  rule  never  to  examine  careless  or  slovenly 
work,  but  to  insist  upon  legibility  and  reasonable 
neatness  in  every  exercise. 

With  very  large  classes  the  correction  of  errors 
becomes  a  serious  problem.  Every  child  who  writes 
a  piece  of  composition  for  the  teacher  is  quite  within 
his  rights  in  expecting  it  to  be  corrected.  It  is  quite 
impossible  for  the  teacher  to  mark  in  detail  the 
whole  of  each  exercise  while  the  lesson  is  proceeding, 
and  it  entails  too  great  a  demand  on  the  teacher's 
private  time  to  mark  them  all  out  of  school  hours, 
even  were  it  advisable.  If  children  are  encouraged 
to  ask  for  whatever  help  or  information  they  need 
in  spelling,  grammatical  construction,  or  questions 
of  fact,  there  will  be  little  need  for  elaborate  marking, 
especially  if  the  teacher  also  sees  to  it  that  the 
children  are  constantly  at  work  and  are  doing  their 
best.  This  can  be  ensured  by  passing  among  the 
children  while  the  exercise  is  being  done,  and  giving 
help,  guidance,  encouragement,  praise,  or  blame, 
wherever  needed. 

In  addition  to  the  general  marking,  which  under 
the  conditions  mentioned  should  soon  be  done,  half- 
a-dozen  papers  should  be  taken  here  and  there  after 
each  exercise,  for  thorough  examination  and  sub- 
sequent remark  and  criticjsm.  This  will  give  the 
teacher  a  good  idea  of  the  detailed  work  as  a  whole, 
and  will  indicate  points  needing  special  attention. 


117 

CHAPTER  V. 
HANDWRITING. 

HANDWRITING  is  not  quite  the  mechanical 
Style.  process  that  many  teachers  think  it  is. 

Style  in  handwriting  is  largely  a  personal 
matter,  and  any  observant  teacher  will  have  noticed 
how  frequently  it  runs  in  families.  We  may  attempt 
to  teach  all  our  pupils  to  adopt  the  same  style — 
round,  Civil  Service,  upright,  or  whatever  it  may 
be — and  thus  produce  an  apparent  uniformity 
throughout  the  school ;  but  it  is  a  very  temporary 
uniformity  after  all,  as  will  be  seen  if  children  are 
left  to  their  own  style  for  a  few  months  ;  individuality 
soon  begins  to  show  itself.  The  art  of  reading  char- 
acter from  handwriting  is  not  all  moonshine  ;  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  it.  Differences  of  style  are 
mainly  due  to  differing  mental  processes,  and  not 
to  any  different  form  of  hand  structure.  For  these 
reasons  the  teacher's  aim  with  the  older  children 
should  be  legibility  produced  at  a  reasonable  speed, 
rather  than  uniformity  which  insists  upon  the  sup- 
pression of  the  child's  individuality. 

Handwriting  has  in  days  gone  by  occu- 
?he  v  f  P*ec^  ^ar  *°°  muck  school  time ;  it  has 
Hand-"2  °  en  ^°°^e(^  upon  as  an  end  in  itself, 
writing.  instead  of  a  means  to  an  end.  Some 

educationists  have  the  idea  that,  if  a  child 
does  .neat  and  beautiful  handwriting,  he  will  be 
neat  in  his  person,  and  admire  the  beautiful  in  other 
things ;  but  experience  teaches  that  in  a  large 
number  of  cases  this  does  not  follow.  Many  chil- 
i 


118  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

dren  who  are  quite  indifferent  regarding  cleanliness 
and  personal  appearance,  are  beautiful  writers ;  and 
many  of  the  cleanest  and  tidiest  children  are  very 
moderate  writers. 

If  we  remember  that  writing  is  taught  only  as  a 
means  of  expressing  thought,  we  shall  be  better 
able  to  keep  it  in  its  proper  relative  position. 

The  art  of  writing  should  be  fully  taught  while 
the  child  is  in  the  three  lowest  classes  of  the 
elementary  school.  Some  work  with  the  blacklead 
will  be  done  befqre  children  enter  the  upper  school ; 
this  will  be  preceded  by  teaching  children  how 
to  make  the  various  letters  with  the  finger  in  sand, 
and  getting  them  to  trace  with  the  finger  the  cut- 
out sand-paper  letters  that  are  now  so  frequently 
used  for  the  youngest  children.  They  will  also  be 
given  plenty  of  practice  in  comparing  the  heights 
and  widths  of  large  objects,  such  as  doors,  windows, 
and  pictures,  before  being  expected  to  see  the  differ- 
ence between  the  height  of  small  e  and  small  1. 

When  the  blacklead  is  introduced,  the  letters 
to  be  copied  should  be  put  on  the  blackboard ;  the 
children  should  see  them  made,  and  in  a  chatty 
way  the  teacher  should  draw  their  attention  to  the 
shape,  size,  width,  and  slope  of  the  letters,  as  she 
makes  them. 

The  early  attempts  of  the  children  should  all  be 
in  large  hand. 

Before  they  begin  to  write,  it  is  important  to 
see  that  the  body  and  the  hand  are  in  the  right 
positions.  These  things  must  be  attended  to  from 
the  very  first,  or  bad  habits  of  posture  are  contracted 
which  are  very  difficult  to  cure.  The  left  elbow 
must  never  be  allowed  to  push  its  way  to  the  front 


HANDWRITING.  119 

of  the  desk  near  the  inkpot — a  position  which,  if 
long  continued,  causes  curvature  of  the  spine. 
Twisting  to  one  side,  and  bending  over  until  the 
nose  nearly  touches  the  paper,  should  never  be 
permitted. 

It  is  advisable  to  use  double-lined  paper  with 
beginners,  as  a  help  towards  keeping  the  bodies  of 
the  letters  of  the  same  size.  When  the  children 
are  able  to  do  this  with  some  degree  of  accuracy, 
single-lined  paper  should  be  used,  and  then  they 
can  proceed  to  acquire  the  art  of  free  writing. 

When  the  child  enters  the  lowest  class  of  the 
elementary  school,  he  is  introduced  to  the  use  of  the 
pen ;  this  is  a  much  more  difficult  instrument  for 
him  than  the  pencil,  so  at  first  very  easy  exercises 
should  be  given. 

When  the  various  letter-forms  and  joinings  can 
be  correctly  made,  the  copying  from  the  blackboard 
should  alternate  with  the  correct  copying  of  a  short 
passage  from  a  reading  book. 

These  lessons  should  be  continued  and  amplified 
for  the  next  two  or  three  years,  so  that  at  the  age 
of  nine  or  ten  the  children  have  mastered  all  the 
mechanical  difficulties  of  writing. 

In  the  higher  classes,  speed  lessons,  in  which 
the  pace  is  very  gradually  increased,  should  be  given ; 
but  legibility  must  always  be  maintained  with  it. 

Some  teachers  have  observed  that,  when  a  child 
begins  to  grow  rapidly,  there  is  a  noticeable  deteriora- 
tion in  his  handwriting ;  he  knows  how  it  should  be 
done,  but  he  lacks  the  power  to  do  it ;  and  it  may 
take  some  time,  and  perhaps  a  certain  amount  of 
extra  practice  later  on,  to  regain  facility  and  good 
style. 


120  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

A  child's  writing  should  not  be  judged  from 
what  he  does  in  the  special  writing  lessons,  but 
from  the  whole  of  his  written  work.  A  boy  who 
really  can  write  well  should  never  be  allowed  to 
scribble  his  science  notes,  or  to  write  his  composition 
exercises  illegibly.  He  should  learn  that  "  What  is 
worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well." 

Co    _  The  question  of  copy-books  or  no  copy- 

Books.  books ;  copy-books  with  headlines  or 
without;  upright  writing,  sloping  writing, 
or  Marr's  writing ;  Civil  Service  or  round  hand ; 
Print  writing  or  Script  writing — all  this  is  very 
debatable,  and  is  largely  a  matter  for  teachers'  own 
taste  and  choice.  But,  whether  copy-books  are  used 
or  no,  lower  and  upper  departments,  and  all  classes 
of  the  same  department,  must  agree  upon  the  style  to 
be  adopted.  Children  must  not  be  taught  to  make 
capital  letters  and  small  letters  in  a  certain  way  in 
one  department  or  class,  and  then  be  taught  a 
different  way  later  on.  There  must  be  a  uniform 
style  adopted  throughout  all  the  classes  where  the 
elements  of  writing  are  taught ;  or  there  will  be 
confusion  in  the  minds  of  the  children. 

When  children  reach  the  upper  classes  of  the 
school,  there  is  no  need  to  insist  upon  their  keeping 
to  the  same  style ;  here  individuality  should  be 
allowed  to  show  itself.  If  speed  and  legibility  be 
increased,  and  a  certain  amount  of  beauty  of  form 
maintained,  no  more  is  needed. 


121 

CHAPTER   VI. 
GKAMMAK. 

FORMAL  grammar  has  been  banished  from 
Necessity  of  many  schools ;  but  surely  there  is  a 
Grammar.  naPP7  rnedium  between  the  intricacies 

and  drudgery  of  parsing  and  analysis, 
and  no  grammar  at  all.  The  whole  structure  of  any 
language  has  a  grammatical  foundation  ;  there  is 
always  method  in  its  use  ;  and  unless  children  are 
acquainted  with  the  main  principles  of  this  method, 
it  is  impossible  for  them  to  know  the  language  in 
anything  but  a  very  mechanical  sort  of  way.  To 
learn  a  language  without  a  real  knowledge  of  the 
methods  of  arrangement  underlying  it,  is  to  learn 
it  merely  by  imitation  ;  and  that  simply  gives  the 
power  to  repeat  what  has  been  learnt.  A  know- 
ledge of  the  fundamental  rules  of  grammar  must  be 
obtained,  if  we  are  to  be  quite  certain  that  we  have 
grasped  the  meaning  of  what  we  hear  or  read,  or  if 
we  are  to  set  forth  our  own  ideas  with  force  and 


Grammar  should  be  taught  in  such  a  way 
Teaching  of  as  ^°  exercise  *ne  thinking  powers,  to 
Grammar,  make  children  familiar  with  the  meaning, 

structure,  grammatical  and  logical  rela- 
tions of  the  various  forms  of  expression,  and  to  teach 
them  the  proper  functions  of  words.  One  can  never 
be  sure  of  the  correctness  of  language  without  a  know- 
ledge of  grammar.  Moreover,  grammar  is  the  Euclid 
or  simple  logic  of  the  elementary  school ;  it  is  the  one 
subject  of  instruction  that  requires  abstract  thought. 


122  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

The  proper  study  of  grammar  teaches  children  to  think 
clearly  and  logically,  because  truths  are  established 
only  after  a  series  of  steps,  each  one  of  which  depends 
upon  some  preceding  truth.  This  is  pre-eminently 
the  subject  in  which  reasoning  should  be  developed 
and  judgment  exercised. 

The  method  of  teaching  is  very  important. 
Grammar  is  not  a  set  of  rules  to  be  committed  to 
memory,  and  then  applied.  The  truths  which 
grammar  teaches  are  to  be  found  in  the  language 
itself ;  and  it  is  in  the  discovery  of  rules  by  the 
children  themselves  through  the  examination  of  a 
large  number  of  selected  examples  that  the  intel- 
lectual value  of  the  subject  consists.  The  teacher 
must  act  as  guide.  He  leads  the  children  to  examine 
sentences  illustrating  some  grammatical  truth,  and 
by  judicious  questioning  helps  them  to  recognize 
it.  They  can  afterwards  apply  the  truth  to  other 
examples  to  test  its  correctness. 

In  grammar  all  rules  must  be  taught  inductively 
and  applied  deductively.  A  definition  must  never 
be  taught  first.  It  is  based  upon  a  generalization 
of  particular  truths,  and  surely  the  child  should  be 
acquainted  with  the  truths  themselves  before  he  is 
asked  to  accept  any  generalized  statement  with 
regard  to  them. 

The  teaching  of  grammar  should  be  based  upon 
sentences.  The  sentence  is  the  unit  of  language. 
We  must  take  the  sentence  and  teach  the  children 
to  recognize  the  functions  of  the  words  composing 
it,  and  to  see  that  each  word  in  the  sentence  has  its 
own  special  work  to  do. 

Teachers  must  beware  of  confusing  words  with 
tilings.  For  example,  in  a  grammar  lesson  a  teacher 


GKAMMAR.  123 

holds  up  a  pen,  and  says,  "  What  is  this  ?  "  "A 
pen,  Miss."  "  Yes,  but  what  is  it  in  grammar  ?  " 
"  A  noun,  Miss."  "  Yes,  it  is  a  noun,"  says  the 
teacher.  But  it  is  not.  Names  are  nouns ;  the 
objects  they  represent  are  not  nouns.  They  must 
also  beware  of  using  mechanical  tricks,  such  as, 
"If  a  word  ends  in  -ly  it  is  an  adverb."  Such 
methods  defeat  the  very  purpose  of  grammar  teach- 
ing. Reason  and  judgment  should  be  brought  into 
use  every  time. 

Visualiza-     Visualization   is   of   great   value  in  help- 
tion  in         |ng  children  to  understand  certain  expres- 
iaysis*      sions,    and    to    analyse    them    correctly. 
Take  the  following  as  an  example : — 
"  Around  the  fire  one  wintry  night 
The   farmer's   rosy   children   sat," 

or 
"  Down  the  snowy  mountain  side 

Thundered  the  mighty  avalanche." 
If  children  are  allowed  to  analyse  these  without 
visualizing  them,  *  fire  '  or  '  night '  will  be  given 
as  the  subject  in  the  one  case,  and  '  mountain  side  ' 
in  the  other.  But  let  them  close  their  eyes  and 
picture  what  the  lines  portray.  In  the  first  sentence 
they  will  at  once  see  the  children  sitting  round  the 
fire  in  the  farm  kitchen ;  in  the  other  they  will  see 
the  avalanche  tumbling  down  the  mountain  side. 
The  subject  of  each  sentence  will  then  be  clearly 
apparent,  and  the  remaining  parts  will  follow  quite 
easily  and  naturally. 

To  take  another  example  : — 

"  In  his  chamber,  weak  and  dying, 
Was  the  Norman  baron  lying." 


124  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

By  visualization  they  at  once  see  the  Norman 
baron,  weak  and  dying,  lying  in  his  room.  Without 
this  process  some  of  the  children  would  thought- 
lessly attach  '  weak  and  dying '  to  '  chamber,' 
instead  of  to  '  baron.' 

Again  :— 

(1)  The  little  girl  went  to  town  in  a  pink 

frock. 

(2)  The  little  girl  went  to  town  in  a  tram- 

car. 

In  the  one  picture  they  see  the  little  girl  in  the 
pink  frock,  and  at  once  realize  that  no  information 
is  given  as  to  the  method  by  which  she  went  to  town, 
and  so  they  attach  '  in  the  pink  frock  '  to  '  girl.'  In 
the  other  picture  their  attention  is  drawn  not  to  her 
dress,  but  to  the  means  of  going  to  town  :  and  so 
'  in  a  tramcar '  is  naturally  attached  to  '  went.' 
Little  difficulty  will  be  encountered  in  dealing  with 
analysis  if  this  method  is  followed. 


125 

CHAPTER  VII. 
LITERATURE. 

THE  teaching  of  literature,  apart  from 
Teaching  of  ^e  ordinary  reading  lessons,  will  have 
Literature.  *°  take  a  much  larger  place  in  the  curric- 
ulum of  elementary  schools  under  the  new 
Education  Act  than  it  has  ever  done  before.  Our 
school  children  must  be  genuinely  introduced  to 
"  the  world  of  books."  How  many  upper  classes 
in  elementary  schools  there  are  to-day  where  the 
children  can  read  fluently,  and  recite  with  credit 
certain  set  pieces,  and  yet  they  have  been  given  little 
or  no  opportunity  of  making  a  first-hand  acquaint- 
ance with  great  English  authors.  Moreover,  they 
are  quite  ignorant  of  prosody,  and  they  cannot  tell 
in  a  sensible  way  why  they  like  one  poem  better 
than  another. 

In  cases  like  these  the  teacher  has  missed  the 
main  object  of  the  literature  lessons,  which  is  to 
give  the  children  a  love  for  good  books,  and  the  power 
to  know  a  good  book,  selection,  or  poem,  from  a  poor 
one.  The  teacher  must  himself  read  a  good  deal 
to  the  children.  Choice  poems  and  prose  passages 
must  be  given  to  them  with  all  the  dramatic  power 
the  teacher  can  command.  In  this  way  the  pupils 
will  feel  the  charm  and  rhythm  of  the  pieces,  and 
will  be  eager  to  know  more  of  them.  They  will  also 
be  interested  in  the  scansion  of  the  lines. 

With  a  little  preliminary  instruction  they  will 
discover  the  kind  of  metre,  how  many  feet  in  a  line, 
what  variations  there  are  from  it,  and  the  different 


126  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

effects  that  iambuses,  trochees,  anapaests,  and  dactyls 
have  upon  the  mind.  They  should  be  encouraged 
to  give  reasons  why  they  like  or  dislike  a  poem  or 
prose  passage,  and  thus  lay  the  foundations  of  simple 
literary  criticism. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  let  the  children  compose 
simple  verses  of  their  own,  using  the  iambic,  trochaic, 
dactylic,  or  anapaestic  metre,  according  to  the  subject 
chosen  for  treatment.  If  they  do  this  they  will 
understand  the  structure  of  poems  very  much  better, 
they  will  be  exercised  in  finding  new  and  suitable 
words  which  will  enlarge  their  general  vocabulary, 
and  they  will  better  realize  how  great  such  men  as 
Shakespeare,  Milton,  Tennyson,  and  Browning  must 
have  been  to  compose  the  glorious  poetry  they  did. 

Whole  books  must  be  taken,  too  ;  dramatic  parts 
should  be  read  by  the  teacher,  and  the  connecting 
narrative  told.  For  many  books  which  are  obtain- 
able from  the  School  or  Public  Library,  an  interesting 
introduction  accompanied  by  a  taste  of  the  subject- 
matter  to  whet  the  appetite  will  be  found  quite 
sufficient. 

The  literature  lesson  proper  in  the  ele- 
mentar7  school  should  be  devoted  to 
what  is  known  as  "  extensive "  study, 
the  "  intensive  "  method  being  applied  only  to  pieces 
chosen  for  memorizing. 

In  the  literature  lesson,  the  teacher  must  aim 
at  inculcating  a  love  of  the  best  books,  and  at  inspir- 
ing his  pupils  with  the  desire  for  more  ;  he  must 
open  up  to  them  the  great  treasures  of  our  language, 
and  guide  their  tastes  into  the  right  direction.  The 
teacher  must  take  as  wide  and  varied  a  range  of  books 


LITERATURE.  127 

as  possible,  so  as  to  make  provision  for  the  different 
tastes  of  different  children.  He  must  also  guard 
against  a  mere  skimming  of  books,  which  undermines 
the  power  of  concentration,  and  leaves  no  permanent 
impression  on  the  mind.  The  chief  motive  of  any 
single  lesson  is  pleasure,  and  along  with  that  the 
arousing  and  retention  of  interest.  At  the  same 
time,  it  must  be  such  as  demands  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  child,  and  not  merely  one  to  tickle  his  literary 
palate. 

Children  must  be  allowed  to  express  their  opinions 
on  characters,  actions,  and  incidents,  and  encouraged 
to  seek  further  information  on  any  special  features 
undergoing  consideration.  One  book  can  be  dealt  with 
in  three  or  four  lessons.  First  let  there  be  an  arous- 
ing introduction,  then  tell  some  parts  and  read  other 
parts  of  the  story,  and  afterwards  let  the  children 
read  it  for  themselves.  They  should  be  required  to 
give  a  brief  oral  or  written  account  of  any  portion 
that  has  been  read.  If  the  work  is  poetry,  for 
instance,  a  play  of  Shakespeare,  their  attention 
should  be  directed  to  famous  passages,  and  portions 
should  be  committed  to  memory. 

The  good  story-teller  is  always  a  favourite 
with  the  children,  and  good  stories  are 
the  child's  natural  inheritance.  How  their  faces 
brighten  and  their  eyes  sparkle  when  the  teacher  is 
about  to  tell  them  a  story  !  And  suitable  stories 
well  told  are  a  valuable  educative  instrument.  They 
cultivate  the  imagination,  enlarge  the  child's  out- 
look, set  him  thinking,  develop  his  powers  of  expres- 
sion, and  implant  in  him  a  love  for  what  is  good  and 
right.  The  story  should  find  its  place  in  every  class, 


128  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

and  in  the  higher  classes  it  should  be  used  to  place 
before  the  children  high  ideals. 
,  The  art  of  story-telling  is  not  easy  to  acquire, 
and  teachers  with  deficient  powers  of  imagination 
never  acquire  it.  The  way  is  always  open  to  those 
who  have  imagination  ;  but  other  qualities  are  needed 
in  addition.  There  must  be  patience  and  sympathy, 
there  must  be  a  good  voice  under  perfect  control, 
and  dramatic  power  must  be  in  evidence. 

In  telling  a  story,  sometimes  let  the  children 
close  their  eyes  so  as  to  visualize  the  scene  more 
accurately.  At  the  close  do  not  point  any  moral ; 
leave  that  to  take  care  of  itself.  It  is  as  unreason- 
able to  point  the  moral  of  a  story  as  it  is  to  explain 
a  joke.  Use  whatever  aids  are  available  to  give 
greater  effect ;  maps,  pictures,  models,  dress,  and 
implements  can  all  be  utilized. 

When  the  story  has  been  told,  let  the  children 
talk  about  it,  express  their  opinions  regarding  what 
the  characters  in  the  piece  said  or  did,  and  tell 
what  they  themselves  would  have  done  in  certain 
circumstances  ;  when  time  permits,  let  them  make  a 
crayon  drawing  to  illustrate  the  story.  Taken  in 
this  way,  the  story  lesson  will  be  productive  of  much 
good,  and  its  influence  will  be  felt  in  the  years  that 
are  to  come. 

Some  teachers  have  the  story -telling  gift ; 

others  are  without  it.     The  former  class 
Story.  needs  no  advice  ;    the  latter  and  larger 

class   may  do   very  well   with  help   and 
practice. 

Choose  a  story  containing,  as  a  rule,  not  more 
than  two  or  three  characters  ;  a  story  that  admits 


LITERATURE.  129 

of  plenty  of  conversation,  and  of  action.  The  more 
you  can  put  into  it  with  voice  and  face  and  limbs, 
the  more  realistic  will  it  be  to  the  children.  Even' 
incident  must  be  clearly  visualized  by  the  teacher  ; 
he  must  forget  that  he  is  a  grown-up,  and  for  the 
time  being  must  live  the  story.  This  is  the  secret 
of  all  effective  dramatization. 

Then  the  language  used  must  be  suited  to  the 
capacity  of  the  children.  Beautiful,  simple  English, 
such  as  John  Bunyan  uses  in  the  "  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress," can  be  readily  and  clearly  understood  by  very 
young  children.  If  their  thoughts  are  diverted  by 
having  to  wonder  what  a  word  means,  thev  will 

*  *• 

probably  lose  the  thread  of  the  story. 

Make  the  most  of  your  voice  ;  let  it  be  loud  or 
soft,  grave  or  gay,  bold  or  tremulous,  thrilling  or 
plaintive,  according  to  the  sense  of  the  piece.  Imitate 
where  you  have  the  opportunity,  both  as  to  sound 
and  pace.  For  example  : — 

"  It  was  a  very  long  train  with  many  heavy 
trucks  in  it,  and  it  was  going  up  the  valley  like 
this:     Chhh!    Chhh !    Chhh !    Chhh !     When   it 
reached  the  top  and  began  to  go  down  the  slope, 
it  went  Ch  !  Ch  !  Ch  !  Ch  !  Ch  !  Ch  !  Ch  !  " 
Such   representations  will  have  a  great  effect  upon 
young  children. 

The  teacher  must  also  endeavour  to  keep  the 
curiosity  of  the  children  on  the  qui  vive  all  through 
the  story.  If  the  secret  is  given  away  at  the  begin- 
ning, or  the  climax  is  brought  on  too  early,  the 
interest  goes  before  the  story  is  finished.  Do  not 
be  afraid  of  some  exaggeration  ;  to  a  child  a  thing 
that  is  quite  of  moderate  proportions  is  very,  very 
big. 


130  MODERN    IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

Of  course  the  teacher  must  practise  the  telling  of 
stories  before  he  can  hope  to  do  it  well.  When  that 
power  has  been  acquired,  he  can  take  the  main  facts 
of  any  story,  and  fill  in  the  details  himself  according 
to  the  age  of  the  children,  and  he  can  rest  assured 
that  both  they  and  he  will  have  a  most  enjoyable 
half-hour. 

Myths  There  is  a  great  deal   of  interest  as  well 

as  a  great  many  beautiful  and  romantic 
ideas  in  some  of  the  old  myths  ;  and  these  can  be 
largely  utilized  in  the  story  lesson.  They  are  often 
richly  imaginative,  and  appeal  strongly  to  children. 
The  wanderings  of  Ulysses,  and  the  labours  of 
Hercules,  are  very  real  to  them.  Perseus  and 
Medusa,  and  Jason  in  search  of  the  Golden  Fleece, 
never  fail  to  enchant.  Some  of  the  ancient  Greek 
and  Roman  myths  have  inspired  great  artists  like 
Lord  Leighton  and  Burne-Jones,  and  if  children 
know  something  of  the  stories  they  will  better  appre- 
ciate the  art.  The  myths  of  Scandinavia,  too,  are 
worth  exploring,  while  King  Arthur  and  his  knights 
will  be  a  never-failing  spring  of  pleasure. 

Let  us  see  to  it  that  our  children  are  introduced 
to  this  delightful  wonderland. 


131 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
RECITATION. 

THE  recitation  lesson  should  be  the  lesson 
Recite  and  wnere  the  correct  pronunciation  and  enun- 
Memorize.  ciation  are  given  to  every  word  spoken. 
Elocution  should  be  taught  here,  if  any- 
where. The  chief  rule  enforced  should  be,  "Recite 
slowly."  Some  children  will  rush  through  a  piece 
regardless  of  sound  or  sense,  as  though  they  were 
in  a  hurry  to  catch  an  important  train.  They  put 
little  or  nothing  into  the  piece,  their  range  of  pitch 
is  as  small  as  it  can  well  be ;  in  fact,  the  whole  per- 
formance is  dull  and  unimpressive. 

Children  must  have  practice  in  correct  breathing, 
in  uttering  loud  and  soft  tones,  in  inflection — the 
falling  voice  first  and  the  rising  voice  afterwards — in 
expressing  rhythm,  in  changing  speed,  and  in  gesture- 
When  the  teacher  has  selected  a  poem,  he  should 
read  it  to  the  children,  emphasizing  the  various  points 
mentioned  above.  He  should  then  see  that  it  is 
comprehended,  without  exhausting  its  meaning. 
When  this  has  been  done  he  should  read  it  again 
two  or  three  times,  allowing  the  children  to  accom- 
pany him  quietly,  as  they  catch  hold  of  the  various 
phrases.  If  cyclostyled  copies  be  given  out  after- 
wards, the  poem,  or  a  portion  of  it,  will  be  learnt  in 
a  few  minutes. 


132  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

Visualization    will    be   found   a    valuable 

Visuahza-         •  i  •,  ,  • 

tion  in  a  m  commrttmg  to  memory  various 
Recitation,  selections  of  poetry.  Things  are  remem- 
bered in  proportion  as  children  realize 
their  meaning.  Before  any  attempt  is  made  to  learn 
the  lines,  eyes  should  be  closed  and  a  series  of  mental 
pictures  formed,  which  should  be  as  accurate  in 
detail  as  the  descriptions  allow.  When  these  are 
understood  and  are  become  familiar,  the  lines  can 
be  fixed  in  the  mind  with  comparative  ease,  and  a 
much  larger  number  will  be  permanently  remem- 
bered than  by  following  the  usual  mechanical  method. 
Where  children  are  merely  required  to  sit  and 
listen  to  what  the  teacher  has  to  say,  and  to  repeat 
parrot-like  line  by  line  as  they  are  told,  not  much 
good  is  being  done.  The  teacher  can  prove  for 
himself  by  experiment  that  the  Hne  by  line  method 
takes  up  far  more  time  than  dealing  with  a  whole 
stanza  as  a  unity.  Learning  line  by  line  is  really 
trying  to  remember  what  are  for  the  most  part 
disconnected  sentences  ;  whereas  dealing  with  a 
whole  stanza  establishes  an  association  between  the 
different  statements  in  such  a  way  that  the  relation 
between  them  is  seen  at  once,  and  the  repetition  of 
one  calls  up  the  other  with  very  little  effort.  The 
information  given  must  be  associated  with  some 
form  of  action  or  self-expression,  or  the  knowledge 
will  never  become  permanent. 

When  hearing  pieces  recited,  it  is  not 
advisable  to  call  upon  one  of  your  best 

Recitation,  children  to  recite  a  selection  which  one 
of  the  dull  ones  has  been  attempting,  but 

has  failed  to  accomplish  with  anything  like  credit. 


RECITATION.  133 

Tommy  may  "  show  Willie  how  to  do  it,"  but  it 
often  gives  him  too  high  an  opinion  of  himself  at  the 
same  time  as  it  shames  Willie  and  very  much  dis- 
courages him.  If  a  dull  boy  should  be  called  upon 
first,  let  him  be  followed  by  one  of  average  ability, 
and  bring  in  the  cleverest  boy  last.  As  a  rule,  the 
reverse  order  is  better.  Rivalry  is  a  good  thing  in 
its  way ;  but  it  can  easily  be  overdone,  and  then  it 
does  far  more  harm  than  good. 


K 


134 

CHAPTER  IX. 
ARITHMETIC. 

ARITHMETIC    has    always    occupied,    and 

must  continue  to  occupy,  a  foremost  place 

mfor  ance   ^  everv  elementary  school   curriculum ; 

Arithmetic.   but  ^ne  commercial  side  of  it  must  not 

be  allowed  to  crowd  out  the  intellectual 

side.     We  are  bound  to  recognize  its  importance  in 

business  circles,  and  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of 

everyday  life  ;    but  we  must  not  be  led  astray  by 

people  who   expect  the  elementary  schools  to  turn 

out   the    finished   article   for   them,   and    who    are 

never  tired  of  telling  us  that  children   cannot   do 

this,  that,  and  the  other  as   children  could  in  the 

good  old  days.      One   might   remind  them   of  the 

common  saying  of  all  generations,  that  things  never 

were  as  good  as  they  used  to  be. 

It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  try  to  meet  all  fair 
demands ;  but  it  is  also  his  business  to  train  the 
mind,  and  arithmetic  is  one  of  the  chief  instruments 
he  has  to  use.  If  he  aims  at  children  merely  getting 
so  many  sums  correct,  and  in  his  hurry  disregards 
principles  and  methods,  he  is  making  anything  but 
the  best  use  of  his  instrument. 

Let  both  aims  run  side  by  side ;  keep  them 
properly  balanced,  and  the  best  results  will  follow. 

As  indicated  in  the  previous  note,  arith- 
Vafue  of       metic  is  of  value 

Arithmetic.       (1)  as  an  instrument  for  mental  train- 
ing ; 
(2)  for  practical  use. 


ARITHMETIC.  135 

Both  these  must  be  taken  together.  The  child 
must  be  trained  to  investigate,  to  think  in  logical 
order,  to  advance  step  by  step  along  a  definite  line 
of  reasoning,  until  the  desired  end  is  attained.  He 
must  be  taught  to  distinguish  the  essential  from  the 
non-essential,  and  to  arrange  his  work  plainly  and 
methodically.  If  there  is  to  be  mental  training,  the 
child  must  not  only  know  what  to  do,  but  why  it 
is  done. 

The  practical  use  of  arithmetic  to  all  classes  of 
people  from  accountants  to  housewives  is  apparent 
to  everybody,  and  for  it  to  be  of  real  value  in  this 
direction,  operations  must  be  quick  and  accurate. 

Arithmetic  should  be  taught  inductively  and 
applied  deductively.  Every  rule  should  be  taught 
by  the  inductive  method,  and  applied  deductively 
for  the  working  of  examples  by  the  children  when 
the  reason  underlying  it  is  fully  understood. 

Long  and  cumbrous  operations  and  examples 
should  not  be  given  ;  they  cause  fatigue  and  give 
rise  to  a  distaste  for  the  subject.  Let  questions  have 
a  close  relation  to  ordinary  life,  and  see  that  the 
children  set  out  their  work  in  clear,  logical  style, 
with  written  explanations  where  needed,  so  that  at 
any  stage  the  working  is  quite  clear  to  the  teacher 
or  examiner. 

Never  have  only  one  sum  at  a  time  on  the  black- 
board for  children  to  work — if  the  work  is  being 
taken  from  the  blackboard — set  down  two  or  three 
at  least ;  quicker  children  will  be  able  to  work  them 
all  while  slower  ones  are  doing  one.  In  this  way  all 
will  be  kept  busy. 

Do  not  let  the  children  look  upon  oral  arithmetic 
as  a  separate  subject  from  written  arithmetic ;  the 


136  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

two  should  be  closely  related.  In  the  lower  part  of 
the  school  oral  arithmetic  should  occupy  two -thirds 
of  the  time  allotted  to  the  whole  subject ;  in  the 
middle  portion  one -half,  and  in  the  higher  classes 
one -third,  of  the  whole  time. 

Oral  arithmetic  must  be  done  quickly,  or  it  will 
not  be  of  much  value. 

Arithmetic     in     most     schools     is     the 
,     teacher's    bete    noire.     He    devotes    more 
Subject.        time  and  attention  to  it  than  to  any  other 

subject,  in  fact,  often  much  more  than 
it  is  worth ;  and  yet  the  results  are  the  most  uncertain 
and  the  least  satisfactory  of  any  of  the  measurable 
subjects.  There  must  be  some  good  reason  for  this 
discrepancy  between  the  effort  and  the  result,  and 
it  lies  in  the  fact  that  our  school  work  in  arithmetic 
is  too  expansive,  and  often  too  widely  separated  from 
that  required  in  ordinary  life. 

How  can  this  be  remedied  ?  All  tables  must  be 
taught  practically  and  learnt  thoroughly,  so  that 
their  use  becomes  quite  automatic.  The  ordinary 
multiplication  tables  should  be  taught  by  means  of 
the  ball  frame,  sticks,  and  counters  ;  weights  and 
measures  by  using  the  scales  and  weights  and  the 
spring  balance,  and  by  measuring  real  objects  and 
cutting  out  geometrical  figures.  Shopping  sums, 
interest,  and  discount  must  be  taught  by  dealing 
with  actual  transactions.  Lengthy,  involved  ex- 
amples, such  as  are  often  found  in  the  text-books, 
should  be  entirely  excluded ;  they  mean  much 
useless  drudgery  that  disgusts  the  child.  Problems — 
not  '  tricky '  ones,  but  such  as  are  met  with  in  real 
life,  graduated  in  difficulty,  and  bringing  in  the 


ARITHMETIC.  137 

various  rules — short  methods,  decimals  at  an  early 
stage,  approximations,  the  use  of  symbols,  and 
the  ability  to  work  equations,  will  solve  most  of  the 
difficulties.  A  narrower  curriculum  with  every 
section  intelligently  taught,  all  tables  thoroughly 
learnt,  plenty  of  practice  examples  to  fix  every  new 
rule  firmly  in  the  minds  of  the  children,  a  fort- 
nightly lesson  spent  in  working  as  many  exercises 
as  possible  on  rules  previously  taken,  both  in  their 
present  class  and  in  lower  classes,  and  frequent 
practice  in  adding  long  tots  and  cross  tots ; — these 
methods  will  be  found  to  make  a  great  improvement 
in  the  results  obtained.  Most  of  the  children  will 
soon  become  proficient,  then  they  will  like  the 
subject,  and  their  continued  progress  will  be 
assured. 

As  a  rule,  early  ideas  of  number  are 
Number  acquired  through  the  experience  of  num- 
bers of  objects  ;  but  some  teachers  main- 
tain that  the  invariable  presence  of  objects  is  a 
hindrance  to  the  formation  of  the  idea  of  number 
in  the  abstract.  The  attention  of  the  child  is 
attracted  by  the  objects  in  such  a  way  that  he  cannot 
form  an  idea  of  number  without  them.  On  the  other 
hand  it  is  quite  possible  for  a  child  to  count  up  to 
20  or  100  parrot-fashion,  without  having  any  idea 
of  the  numbers  he  is  naming.  The  best  method 
seems  to  be  to  use  dots  like  those  on  dominoes ;  they 
appeal  to  the  mind  through  the  eye  and  denote  the 
quantity  without  drawing  the  attention  of  the  child 
to  the  features  of  any  objects.  Of  course,  when 
the  notion  of  the  number  is  grasped  it  may  be 
readily  applied  to  concrete  things. 


138  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

Problems  in  arithmetic  are  invariably 
by  the™  made  up  by  the  teacher,  or  are  taken 
Children.  from  the  textbook.  This  custom  should 

be  modified  so  as  to  allow  the  children 
occasional  opportunities  to  make  problems.  One 
must  not  only  know  a  subject  fairly  well  to  frame 
good  questions  upon  it,  but  a  great  deal  is  learnt  in 
the  effort  to  prepare  such  questions — an  effort  which 
tends  to  develop  one's  constructive  powers. 

It  will  do  a  child  more  good  to  frame  a  suitable 
problem  himself  than  to  solve  one  propounded  by 
the  teacher ;  and  if  children  are  trained  to  make 
problems,  the  solution  of  which  comes  within  their 
own  capacity  and  that  of  the  majority  of  pupils  in 
their  class,  they  will  have  little  difficulty  in  solving 
those  made  by  the  teacher,  or  those  taken  from  the 
textbook.  A  child  will  feel  proud  of  being  able  to 
make  a  problem  which  the  teacher  allows  the  whole 
class  to  attempt  to  solve  ;  it  will  give  him  a  new 
and  greater  interest  in  the  subject,  which  is  sure  to 
be  followed  by  good  results. 

Easy    number  can  be    taught   to  young 

TVio   Cfnrv  •*  "^ 

Method  children  by  using  the  story  method. 
For  example : — A  boy  (or  girl)  found  some 
nuts  in  a  small  bag.  He  took  them  home  and  gave 
his  father  3,  his  mother  3,  and  his  little  brother  4. 
How  many  was  that  ?  Then  he  threw  away  2  bad 
ones,  put  6  in  his  pocket,  and  then  found  that  there 
were  10  left  in  the  bag.  How  many  were  there  in 
it  when  he  found  it  ?  (28.)  Yes.  Now  suppose 
of  the  26  good  ones  he  had  kept  6  for  himself,  and 
then  shared  the  others  equally  among  4  boys,  how 
many  would  each  have  had  ?  If  he  had  lost  a 


ARITHMETIC.  139 

quarter  of  those  in  the  bag  at  first,  how  many  would 
have  been  left  ?  (21.)  Yes ;  and  if  these  were 
sold  at  7  a  penny,  how  much  money  would  be  given 
for  them  ?  And  so  on. 

A  box  with  10  compartments  will  be 
A  Useful  p  ^  F  i  T i  •  c  i  • 

Object  for     iound  a  verv  useiul  ob]ect  ior  supplying 
Number.       a  large  number  of  exercises  for  the  chil- 
dren in  the  lower  classes,  e.g.  : — 

(1)  I  put  4  beads  in  each  compartment ;  how 

many  in  all  ?     (40.) 

(2)  If  I  empty  3  compartments,  how  many  beads 

remain  ?     (28.) 

(3)  The  beads  left  in  are  worth  a  penny  each ; 

what  are  they  worth  altogether  ?     (2/4.) 

(4)  Those  taken  out  are  worth  a  halfpenny  each  ; 

what  are  they  worth  altogether  ?     (6(7.) 

(5)  How  much  are  those  left  in  worth  more  than 

those  taken  out  ?     (1/10.) 
And  so  on. 

It  will  be  found  very  effective  with  the 
Lower  °  youngest  children  to  take  a  definite  num- 
Classes.  her,  Sa7>  36  or  60,  and  deal  with  it  by 

analysis  and  synthesis,  in  simple  and  com- 
pound quantities,  until  they  are  well  acquainted 
with  it  in  all  its  forms.  For  example  : — 

(1)  How  many  dozens  in  36  ?     How  many  half- 

dozens  ? 

(2)  Nuts  are  9  a  penny ;    what  would  36  cost  ? 

(3)  A  nest  will  hold  6  eggs ;  how  many  nests  to 

hold  36  ? 

(4)  36  oranges  at  2d.  each  ?  at  Id.  each  ?  at  Jrf. 

each  ? 


140  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

(5)  36  inches  in  a  yard,  how  many  in  -|  yard  ? 

in  J  yard  ? 

(6)  A  piece  of  string  a  yard  long  is  cut  into  2-inch 

lengths  ;    how  many  are  there  ? 

(7)  How  many  threepenny  pieces  are   equal  to 


(8)  I  buy  2  caps  at  8d.  each  ;   how  much  left  out 

of  3/-  ? 

(9)  Out  of   36   sweets   I  give   3  hoys   7   each  ; 

how  many  have  I  left  for  myself  ? 
(10)  How  many  yards  of  ribbon  at  3d.  a  yard  can 
I  get  for  3/-  ?     At  4d.  ?     At  9d.  ? 
And  so  on. 

Shopping  methods  are  useful  for  teach- 
Metho'cuf  *n&  dozens,  scores,  half-dozens,  pairs, 

couples,  etc.,  and  for  bringing  into  prac- 
tical use  the  various  rules  taught  in  the  arithmetic 
lessons. 

Call  four  or  five  pairs  of  boys  to  the  front  of  the 
class  and  let  them  write  in  chalk  on  a  slate  the  names 
and  prices  of  three  articles  they  sell,  different  names 
to  be  put  on  different  slates,  and  each  slate  to  be 
held  by  two  boys  ;  e.g.  :  — 

(1)  *  (2) 

oranges  (2d.)  nuts  (1/6  a  Ib.) 

bananas  (2jeZ.)  dates  (Qd.  a  Ib.) 

apples  (Qd.  a  Ib.)  grapes  (2/-  a  Ib.) 

(3) 

flour  (2/6  a  stone) 
butter  (2/-  a  Ib.) 
bacon  (1/9  a  Ib.) 

And  so  on. 
The  teacher  goes  from  one  to  the  other  and  asks 


ARITHMETIC.  141 

questions ;  e.g.  : — 2  dozen  oranges  and  4  bananas, 
please  ;  there's  a  10/-  note.  He  puts  down  a  piece 
of  paper  marked  10/-.  The  two  boys  try  to  see 
which  can  be  first  in  giving  correct  change.  Those 
in  the  class  are  also  reckoning,  and  indicate  when 
they  have  the  answer.  Their  endeavour  is  to  see 
if  they  can  be  quicker  than  the  shopkeepers  ;  if  so, 
they  take  the  shopkeepers'  place.  The  teacher 
questions  first  one  group  and  then  another,  and  some- 
times allows  the  children  in  the  class  to  question. 
As  a  variation,  the  class  may  also  be  worked  in  sec- 
tions, one  for  each  slate.  In  these  ways  interest  is 
maintained,  and  good  practice  is  given  in  oral 
exercises. 

Subtraction  is  best  taught  by  comple- 
Subtraction  mentary  addition.  This  is  the  method 
pfementarv  a^ways  use(l  by  shopkeepers  as  being  the 
Addition.  most  rapid  and  accurate  way  of  giving 

change  ;  it  is  also  the  one  used  in  the 
Italian  method  of  division.  Take  the  following. 

The  working  is  done  in  this  way  : — 
r  \    aofc    8  and  7=15  ;   set  down  the  7,  and  carrv  the 

(l.j      «Z5 

378  1  ^n. 

Ans.  "447    I  and  7  are  8,  and  4  are  12  ;   set  down  the 

—  4  tens,  and  carry  the  1  hundred. 

1  and  3  are  4,  and  4  are  8  ;   set  down  the  4. 

Subtraction  of  money  and  of  weights  and  mea- 
sures can  be  done  in  the  same  way. 

|(?.+4.d.=l|^.  ;     set   down    £d.   and 
(ii.)    12    5    si  carry  Id. 

6  14    s|     ld.-{-8d.=Qd.,  and  6d.  more=ls.  3d.', 
Ans  £5  10    6^  set  down  the  6d.,  and  carry  the 
'  Is, 


142  MODEKN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

ls.+14s.=15s.,   and  10s.   more=25s.=£l    55. ;     set 

down  the  10s.,  and  carry  the  £1. 
£l+£6=£7,  and  £5=£12 ;   set  down  the  £5. 

22  lb.+21  lb.=:43  lb.=l  qr.  15 

20     4      28  11,    .      QPt    rlnwT1    +>!p    01     IVi 

Tonscwt.qr.     Ib.  ID'  »      S6t    a®W11    tn6    J1     ID<> 

(iii.)    10    3    1    15  and  carry  the  1  qr. 

8  14    2    22      1   qr.+2  qr.=3  qr.,   and  2  qr. 
Am.    6    8    2    21  more=5    qr.,    i.e.,    I    cwt. 

1  qr. ;    set  down  the  2  qr. 
and  carry  1  cwt. 

1  cwt.-f-14  cwt. =15  cwt. ;    15  cwt. +8  cwt.  more 
=23  cwt.,  i.e.,  1  ton  3  cwt. ;   set  down  8  cwt. 
and  carry  1  ton. 
1  ton-f-3  tons=4  tons,  and  6  tons  more=10  tons ; 

set  down  the  6  tons. 

This  method  is  also  useful  when  two  processes 
are  involved.     For  example  : — 

I  have  £20.  I  spend  £3  15s.  Qd  on  Monday ; 
£2  18s.  4|d.  on  Tuesday;  £1  19s.  ll%d.  on 
Wednesday ;  and  £6  9s.  Id.  on  Saturday. 
What  have  I  left  ? 

£      s.     d. 

20     0     0     at  first. 

8  15     6  on  Monday. 

2  18     4£  „    Tuesday. 

1  19  11 1  „    Wednesday. 

697  „    Saturday. 

Ans.  £4  16     7  left. 

Work  as  follows  : — 

%d.-}-7rd.=ld.,  carry  Id. 
ld.4-W.+lld.+4d.+6d.=2s.  5d. ;   and  7d.  more 

=3s. ;    set  down  Id.,  and  carry  3s. 
3s.+9s.+19s.-f  18s.+15s.=£3  4s. ;  and  16s.  more 

=£4 ;   set  down  16s.,  and  carry  £4. 


ARITHMETIC.  143 

£4+£6+£l+£2+£3=  £16;    and  £4  more  =  £20  ; 
set  down  £4. 

In  multiplication  it  is  best  to  begin  multi- 
tion  1P  1Ca"  Ptym&  ky  the  figure  of  the  highest  denom- 
Method.  ination,  as  this  method  will  be  of  great 

value  when  decimals  and  approximations 
are  reached. 

For  example  :  — 

69342 

567  Multiply  first  by  the   5 

846710  hundreds,   then   by  the    6 


416052  tens   and  iast  Of 

485394         7  units. 


89316914 

Suppose  we  have  to  multiply  69-342  by  5-67. 
Approximately  the  answer  will  be  70x6=420,  or 
nearer  still,  70X5|=385.  This  shows  us  that  there 
will  be  3  whole  numbers  in  the  answer ;  so  we  can 
multiply  as  above  and  put  the  decimal  point  after 
the  third  figure  from  the  left. 

Or,  again,  take  -0378  X  -049. 

This  is  approximately  -03X'05,  i.e.,  a  hundredth 
part  of  -03X5,  or  -15,  and  a  hundredth  part 
of  -15=-0015. 

.'.  in  the  product  of  -0378  X -049  there  will  be 
2  noughts  after  the  decimal  point,  thus  :— 

378 
49 

1512      Ans.  -0018522. 
3402        

18522 


144  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 


The  Italian  ^^1S  should  ^e  use^  m  the  higher  classes 
Method  of  as  taking  up  less  space  and  time  than 
Division.  the  ordinary  method  of  division. 

58)28651(493  493 

232  58)28651 

545  545_ 

Usual  522  Italian  231 

Method.  231  Method.  —  — 

174  — 

57 

The  answer  is  placed  above  the  dividend,  the 
first  figure,  4,  being  placed  over  the  third  figure  of 
the  dividend,  because  286  contains  58  four  times. 
Then  the  sum  is  worked  as  follows  :— 

4X8=32,  32+4=36  ;   set  down  4,  and  carry  the 

3  tens  of  36. 
Next  4X5=20,  and  3  carried  are  23,  and  5  more 

make  28  ;    set  down  the  5. 

Bring  down  the  5,  and  proceed  as  before. 

This  is  the  best  method  for  decimals,  too.  The 
easiest  way  of  fixing  the  decimal  point  in  a  division 
sum  is  to  find  an  approximate  answer,  as  we  did 
when  multiplying.  For  instance  :  — 

Suppose  we  have  286-52-^-5-8. 

Then  286-i-5  will  give  us  two  figures  in  the  whole 

number  portion  of  the  answer. 
.*.  Ans.  will  be  49-4. 
Or,  again,  -0135-^-009. 

Multiply  mentally  both  sides  by  1,000  ;  we  then 
have  13-5-1-9,  and  13-1-9  gives  one  figure  in 
the  whole  number  portion.  .'.  Ans.  =1-5. 


ARITHMETIC.  145 

It    is   very  important  that  boys  in  the 

upper  classes  should  be  able  to  decimalize 
ization.  .,„.,.  . 

money  with  facility.  It  is  done  by  what 
is  known  as  the  four -five  rule.  For  example  :— 

£25  15s.=£25H-£i§=£25-j-17o5s= £25-75.  There- 
fore, if  we  multiply  the  shillings  by  5  and  put  the 
result  in  the  tenths  and  hundredths  places,  we  have 
the  money  decimalized. 

Or  it  may  be  shown  that  ls.=£-zo=£i%Q=£'05. 
/.  15s.=£-05Xl5=£-75. 

To  decimalize  the  pence  and  farthings,  we  have 
to  remember  that  ^d.=£g^^)  i.e.,  -001  approximately. 
If  we  multiply  this  by  the  number  of  farthings  con- 
tained in  the  pence  and  farthings  given  in  the  amount 
to  be  decimalized,  and  put  the  result  in  the  hundredths 
and  thousandths  places,  we  shall  have  a  result  very 
nearly  correct ;  e.g.,  £32  8s.  4jdL 

(i.)  four  fours  are  16  and  1  more  makes  17 
(farthings) ;  set  down  7  in  the  thousandths 
place,  and  carry  1. 

(ii.)  Jive  eights  are  40  and  1  carried  makes  41  ; 
set  down  41  in  the  tenths  and  hundredths 
places  ;  then  we  have  £32-417. 

Again,  £19  17s.  Qd.=  £19-874  according  to  the 
four-five  rule.  But  we  know  that  17s.  6^.— f  of 
£l=£-875.  /.  £-874  is  £-001  too  little.  To  correct 
this  slight  error,  we  add  £-001  to  the  answer  when- 
ever the  pence  amount  to  Qd.  or  more  ;  then  in 
this  case  we  get  £19-875. 

The  reverse  process  will  reduce  decimalized 
money  to  £  s.  d. 

E.g.  :— £19-875. 

£-87-f-5— 17  and  2  over.  Set  the  17  down  as 
shillings,  put  the  2  before  the  5,  making  it  25,  and 


146  MODERN   IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

call   them   farthings=6jd.    Deduct  %d.   for   6d.   or 
more,  and  then  the  answer  is  £19  17s.  6d. 

Compound  multiplication  can  be  worked  by  the 
method    of    decimalization ;     e.g. : — Find    the    cost 
of  37  horses  at  £35  9s.  4d.  each. 
£35-466 
37^ 

1063  98 

248  262 


£181  2-242  =  £1,312  4*.  10^.  appro*. 

The  correct  answer  is  £1,312  5s.  4d.,  so  that  it 
is  only  5%d.  too  small,  which  is  not  much  out  of 
such  an  amount  as  £1,312.  It  can  be  seen  at  a  glance 
that  the  error  is  less  than  £-001x37,  because  the 
number  of  pence  in  the  sum  to  be  multiplied  is  below 
6,  viz.,  4d. ;  therefore  the  error  must  be  less  than 
37  farthings,  or  9^d.  As  4d.  is  more  than  half  6d., 
rather  more  than  half  9jdL  could  be  added,  say  5d., 
which  would  bring  the  answer  very  near  to  the 
exact  amount,  viz.  : — £1,312  5s.  3%d. 

Decimalization  can  be  used  in  '  practice  '  sums. 
Suppose  I  wish  to  find  the  value  of  250  pairs  of 
boots  at  £1  5s.  lOjd.  a  pair. 

250  pairs  at  £1  a  pair  cost  £250 
„      5s.       „         „      £  62-5 
„      M.     „        „     £    6-25 
„      3d.      „         „      £     3-125 
„    l\d.      „         „      £     1-5625 

£323-4375 
Am.  £323  8s.  9d.  " 

Interest  sums  can  also  be  worked  by  decimal- 
ization. 

Find  the  simple  interest  on  £1,100  for  3|  years 
at  2|%  per  annum. 


ARITHMETIC. 


147 


Interest  fraction  =  8f  x  2|  =  *£  x  f  =  *£  =  9f  %. 
£11-00    =  1%. 

99-00  =  9%. 
2-75  =i%. 
1-375  =  1. 


£103-125  =  9f%. 


Ans.  £103  2s 


Find  the  simple  interest  on  £2,400  for  146  days 
at  2|%  per  annum. 

Interest  fraction  =  ^f|  x  2f 
—  I  x  V~  =  TU  =  Interest  1TV%- 
£24-00  =        „        1%. 
2-40  =        „ 

£26-4    =        „ 
£26  8*. 


LTU/ 


Find  the  simple  interest  on  £130  7s.  3d.  for  5 
months  at  3|%  per  annum. 

£130  7s.  3d.  =  £130-362 
Interest  at  1%  for  1  year  =  £     1-30362 


3%  , 

4%  , 

I 

1 

»  — 
»  — 

£ 

3-91086 
•65181 

84%  > 

34%  , 
34%  , 

1 

5 

>»  == 
mth.  = 
mths.= 

£ 

£ 

4-56267 
•38022 
1-901 

—  —  i^-^ 

Ans. 

£1 

18s.  Of 

i. 

Short  To  find  the  cost  of  a  ton  at  so  much 

Methods        per  ^     cnange  ^ne  price  per  Ib.  to  farth- 
with  Tons,  11    , i &        «,  r         -,r  ,1  i,  -   i 

cwt  Ib         m£s'   ca  ^  ^hem   £  s,   and  then   multiply 

by  7  and  divide  by  3. 

For  example : — Find  the  cost  of  a  ton  of  sugar 
at  6|d.  a  Ib. 


U8  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

The  truth  of  this  will  be  seen  when  we  notice  that 

960  (farthings  in  £1)X7     0  0,A    •  , 

—  §—  —=2,240,  i.e.,  the  number  of 

o 

Ib.  in  a  ton. 

If  we  wish  to  find  the  cost  of  a  cwt.,  we  simply 
call  the  £'s  shillings  in  the  tons  answer. 

E.g.  :  —  £58^  per  ton  =  58^s.  per  cwt. 
=  £2  185.  4d. 

If  the  price  per  ton  be  given  and  the  price  per  Ib. 
be  required,  reverse  the  process. 

E.g.  :—  £58  6s.  Sd-.  per  ton  =  £58j.  Multiply  by 
3  and  divide  the  product  by  7  ;  call  the  answer 
farthings  ;  this  will  give  the  price  per  Ib. 

JLJLsKS       25  far. 


If  the  children  can  remember  that  l^d.  a  Ib. 
=£14  a  ton,  many  questions  can  be  still  more  easily 
worked  ;  e.g.  :  — 

2jd.  a  Ib.  (i.e.  Ijdf.+fd.)  =£21  a  ton. 
3d.     „       (i.e.  Ijd.  +  Ud!.)=£28      „ 
„       (i.e.  1J&X7)      =£98      „ 
1/6     „       (i.e.  ljd.xl2)    =£168     „ 

L.C.M.  may  often  be  used  to  advantage 
*n  place  °f  *ne  unitary  method,   or  the 
L.C.M.          rule  °f  three. 

Example  :  —  Three  soldiers,  A,  B,  and 
C,  can  dig  a  length  of  trench  in  10,  12,  and  15  hours 
respectively.  How  long  will  the  work  take  if  all 
three  are  ordered  to  work  together  ? 

L.C.M.  of  10,  12,  15  =  60. 
In  60  hours  A  can  do   6  times  the  length. 

5>  •"  5J  "  )>  J» 

^  1  \-S  11  51  99 


ARITHMETIC.  149 

.'.  In  60  hours  A-}-B-\-C  can  do  15  times  the  length. 
.'.  They  can  do  the  required  length  in  f  £  hr.—  4  hours. 

Example  :  —  A  can  lay  an  electric  cable  in  6  days, 
B  in  9  days,  C  in  10  days.  How  long  would  it  take 
A  and  B  together,  or  A  and  C  together,  or  B  and  C 
together,  or  A,  B,  and  C  all  working  together  ? 

L.C.M  of  6,  9,  10  =  90. 
In  90  days  A  can  lay  15  times  the  length. 

33  »  •"  33  33  33 

3*  3>  ^  ))  "  1)  13 

In  90  days   A-{-B  can  lay  25  times  the  length. 
„       „      A+C        „       24 
„       ,,      B-{-C        ,,     "19        „  „ 

„       „  A+B+C^   „       34 

.'.     A-\-B  can  do  it  in    f  f  days=3f  days 


90  _  q3 

24          33  —  ^4 

90 
19 

A-\-B-\-L   ,.         ,,       -5-5 

Example  :  —  A  hot  -water  pipe  can  fill  a  bath  in 
5  minutes,  a  cold-water  pipe  in  3  minutes,  and  a 
waste  pipe  can  empty  it  in  2J  minutes.  How  long 
will  it  take  to  fill  it  — 

(a)  when  the  hot-  and  cold-water  pipes  are  on  ? 

(b)  when  all  three  pipes  are  open  ? 

L.C.M.  of  5,  3,  2J  =  15. 
In  15  min.  the  h.w.  pipe  can  fill  it  3  times. 

33  33  C.W.  ,,  ,,  5  ,, 

,,          ,,        waste     ,,     can  empty  it  6  times. 
.*.  h.w.-f-c.w.  pipes  can  fill  it  8  times  in  15  minutes. 
.*.  they  can  fill  it  once  in  -V^lf  minutes. 

When  all  three  pipes  are  open  it  will  be  filled 
3+5—6  times  in  15  minutes,  i.e.,  twice, 


150  MODERN    IDEAS    AND   METHODS. 

/.it  will  be  filled  once  in  -1/-  min.  =  7J  min. 

A        (  (i.)  ll  min. 
Ans.  jp.  (  -I 

|(n.)  7J  mm. 

Upper  class  children  sometimes  find 
ProbLms  difficulty  in  solving  problems  relating 

to  carpets  for  covering  a  room.  They 
usually  fail  to  see  that  the  carpet  when  made  and 
laid  down  is  of  exactly  the  same  area  as  it  was  when 
rolled  up  in  the  piece. 

If  Z/R=dength  in  roll,  and  BR  breadth  in  roll, 
LnXBR=LI)xBI>1  where  ZD  and  5D  stand  for 
length  and  breadth  when  down  (R  standing  for  roll, 
and  D  for  down). 

L  xB 

Dividing  each  side  by  Bn  we  have  LR=—  =- 

#R 

If  length  of  carpet  has  to  be  found,  this  formula 
will  give  it,  when  the  necessary  values  are  sub- 
stituted. If  BR  is  required,  divide  each  side  by  Z-R, 

L  xB 

and  then  Bn=   D      — ,   which  can  be  used  in  the 

-t'R 

same  way. 

Of  course,  we  must  ensure  that  all  the  quantities 
given  are  reduced  to  the  same  denomination — yards, 
feet,  inches,  etc. 

.     The    teacher     should     make     a     list     of 

Practicid  *"  exerc^ses    suitable    for    the    children    to 

Arithmetic.    WOI>k  ;    calculations  should  be  made,  and 

then  tested.     The  following  may  suggest 

others  : — 

(1)  Buying  and  selling,  and  giving  change. 

(2)  Knowledge    of    paper    money — bank    notes, 
treasury  notes,  postal  orders,  money  orders,  cheques, 
stamps. 


ARITHMETIC.  151 

(3)  Practice  with  the   spring  balance,  steelyard, 
scales    and    weights;    estimating    weights,    e.g.,    to 
estimate  the  weight  of  a  brick,  chair,  table,  book, 
boy,    etc.      To    compare    heaviness    of    lead,    iron, 
wood,  etc. 

(4)  Judging  the  capacity  of  cups,  tumblers,  jugs, 
basins,  bowls,  pans,  buckets,  etc.     To  tell  how  many 
oz.  of  water  in  bottles  of  various  sizes. 

(5)  To  estimate  the  thickness  of  a  thing  by  look- 
ing at  it ;   length  of  finger  ;  width  of  hand  ;  distance 
round  head,  thigh,  calf,  thumb  ;  width  of  classroom, 
road,   causeway,   tram  lines ;   height   of  hat,   stick, 
boy,  girl,  cupboard,  wall ;  depth  of  water  in  tumbler, 
glass,  bowl ;  area  of  pane  of  glass,  classroom,  school 
garden,  playground. 

(6)  To  estimate  height  of  tall  chimneys,  church 
spires,    and   then   test   by    shadow    measurements ; 
comparison  with  height  of  known  objects  :  so  many 
times,  etc. 

(7)  To  estimate  how  long  it  takes  to  walk  or  run 
round  the  playground,  and  from  that  to  find  how 
many  miles  an  hour  a  boy  could  go  if  he  were  able 
to  continue. 

(8)  Estimating   speed   of   trains,    trams,    motor- 
cars, cabs,  vehicles,  etc. 

(9)  Finding  the  distances  from  one  place  to  another 
on  the  map  by  means  of  the  scale. 

(10)  Graphs  of  attendance,  temperature,  etc. 

(11)  Measuring  angles  of  slope  and  testing  with 
the  protractor. 

(12)  Practice  in  reading  railway  time-tables,  gas 
meters,  and  mariner's  compass. 


152 


CHAPTER  X. 
GEOGRAPHY. 

And  none  too  soon.  It  seems  only  yester- 
M^thods  in  ^J  that  we  taught  long  lists  of  capes, 
Geography,  bays,  and  islands,  mountains  and  rivers, 
countries  and  capitals,  animal  and  vege- 
table productions — lists  difficult  to  remember  and  as 
dry  as  dust.  But  to-day  our  facts  are  associated, 
explained,  illustrated,  and  they  have  a  certain 
intrinsic  value.  We  are  realizing  the  close  con- 
nection between  certain  geographical  features,  e.g., 
how  productions  depend  mainly  upon  the  nature  of 
the  land  and  the  climate,  and  how  human  develop- 
ment has  been  influenced  by  geographical  conditions. 

Large  natural  areas  are  now  considered  apart 
from  their  political  divisions,  which  are  not  infre- 
quently quite  artificial.  Complete  pictorial  scenes 
of  definite  sections  are  provided,  of  much  the  same 
character  as  would  be  seen  if  the  district  were  actually 
visited. 

We  have  to  remember  that  the  two  chief  factors 
affecting  human  life  and  development  are  geologic 
and  climatic.  Natural  areas  may  be  plotted  out 
on  either  of  these  bases ;  but,  as  a  rule,  it  is 
found  more  convenient  to  make  divisions  according 
to  geological  structure.  For  example,  Great  Britain 
may  be  taken  under  five  divisions  : — 

(1)  The  Highlands  occupying  the  north  and  west 

of  Scotland. 

(2)  The  central  uplands  embracing  the  Cheviots, 

Pennines,   and   Cumbrian  mountains. 

(3)  The  Welsh  and  Cornish  heights. 


GEOGRAPHY.  153 

(4)  The  central  plain  of  Scotland. 

(5)  The  central  and  southern  plain  of  England. 
As  a  rule,  large  areas  should  be  taken  first ;  these 

may  be  subdivided  later  for  more  detailed  treatment. 

After  taking  a  general  view  of  the  configuration 
of  the  land,  and  the  climate  of  the  district,  a  section 
may  be  divided  into  areas  for  detailed  study  in 
accordance  with  what  the  teacher  considers  will 
best  answer  the  purpose  he  has  in  view. 

School  journeys  should  be  taken  to  all  places  of 
local  geographical  interest ;  contour  maps  should 
be  studied,  and  sketch  maps  made  to  show  such 
things  as  temperature,  rainfall,  mineral  and  vege- 
table productions,  etc.,  and  they  should  be  in  con- 
stant use.  Lantern  views,  stereoscopic  views,  and 
good  photographs  will  also  prove  valuable  aids,  and 
interesting  extracts  from  works  of  travel  will  make 
the  subject  vividly  real. 

The  children  must  also  be  encouraged  to  make 
their  own  deductions.  A  study  of  the  contour  of  a 
district,  of  its  supplies  of  mechanical  power  in  the 
shape  of  water  and  minerals,  should  lead  them  to 
see  why  certain  industries,  towns,  and  masses  of 
people  are  found  where  they  are,  and  to  recognize 
the  necessity  of  the  lines  of  communication  between 
one  part  and  another  running  along  the  routes  they 
occupy. 

When  dealing  with  the  geography  of  foreign 
countries,  the  older  children  should  be  guided  in 
obtaining  books  of  travel  from  the  Library,  so  that 
they  may  read  them  for  themselves. 

These  are  some  of  the  modern  ways,  and  cer- 
tainly better  ways,  of  dealing  with  the  subject  of 
geography. 


154  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

A  few  years  ago  the  teacher  loaded  his 
Practical  pupils  with  cargoes  of  geographical  facts, 
Geography  ?  most  of  which  were  soon  washed  over- 
board ;  to-day  he  is  trying  practical 
methods.  Why  ?  Because  children  learn  best  and 
most  through  self-activitv.  Things  they  have  to 

•/ 

think  out  for  themselves  become  part  of  their  per- 
manent stock  of  knowledge,  which  they  are  able  to 
use  at  command.  We  know  from  our  own  experience 
that  what  people  tell  us  is  soon  forgotten,  unless  we 
ponder  over  it  and  make  some  use  of  it.  It  is  equally 
so  with  children.  For  these  reasons  geography  can 
be  taught  successfully  only  through  the  self-activity 
of  the  pupil.  He  must  use  his  eyes  ;  he  must  experi- 
ment ;  he  must  ponder ;  he  must  form  conclusions, 
and  know  how  to  test  them. 

A  great  deal  of  the  practical  work  consists  of 
measurement,  and  the  pupil  must  be  taught  to  go 
about  it  in  the  right  way.  The  sources  of  geograph- 
ical information  are  open  to  him  in  the  atlas,  the 
gazetteer,  the  newspaper,  and  in  works  of  travel.  He 
must  be  trained  how  to  use  these  sources.  If  the 
teacher  of  geography  goes  on  these  lines,  the  child 
will  enter  the  larger  life  of  the  world  capable  of 
making  accurate  deductions,  and  of  dealing  with 
any  problems  in  this  direction  that  may  come 
before  him. 

.  During  recent  years  the  teaching  of 
mental"  geograPny  nas  made  great  progress  along 
Geography,  experimental  lines ;  measurements,  the 
construction  and  reading  of  maps,  weather 
observations,  action  of  the  sea  and  other  forces  on 
the  land  have  all  been  brought  within  the  scope  of 


GEOGRAPHY.  155 

the  curriculum.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  If  geog- 
raphy is  to  be  dealt  with  scientifically,  the  child 
must  be  allowed  to  use  his  eyes  and  his  brains  ;  he 
must  observe,  make  his  deductions  from  ascertained 
facts,  frame  his  hypotheses,  and  then  verify  them. 
Theory  and  practice  must  not  be  divorced ;  the  one 
must  explain  the  other. 

The  action  of  water,  the  effects  of  running  water, 
the  erosion  of  the  land  by  the  sea,  should  all  be  dis- 
cussed in  dealing  with  the  character  of  the  coast-line. 
The  action  of  atmospheric  forces  on  interior  land,  and 
a  talk  about  glaciers  will  help  the  child  to  understand 
mountains,  hills,  valleys,  lakes,  and  rivers,  and  will 
induce  him  to  take  a  much  deeper  interest  in  them. 
Consulting  the  map  will  tell  him  whether  rivers  are 
swift  or  slow,  whether  they  are  likely  to  be  suitable  for 
navigation  or  no,  and  will  help  him  to  see  why  certain 
towns  have  been  built  on  the  sites  they  now  occupy. 

Physical,  commercial,  and  historical  geography 
should  all  be  taken  side  by  side,  and  not  dealt  with 
as  though  they  were  only  remotely  related  to  one 
another.  One  depends  upon  the  other  ;  the  economic 
geography  is  explained  by  the  physical  and  historical ; 
and  often  the  history  of  a  country  is  largely  ex- 
plained by  a  study  of  its  geographical  conditions. 

Geography  dealt  with  in  this  way  will  be  a  very 
valuable  subject  in  the  curriculum ;  children  will 
be  interested,  and  what  they  learn  will  be  more  likely 
to  become  permanent  and  to  lead  on  to  further  dis- 
coveries and  wider  knowledge. 

This    should  begin  at  home.     Geograph- 

Geoeraphv     *ca^    features    in    the    neighbourhood,    or 

within  easy  access,  should  be  the  standard 


156  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

by  which  a  fairly  accurate  notion  may  be  obtained 
of  things  and  places  not  within  reach.  Areas  and 
distances  may  be  grasped  in  the  same  way.  Places 
long  distances  apart  are  better  measured  by  the 
time  taken  to  journey  thither ;  e.g.  : — 

Liverpool  to  London      . .     5  hours. 

Paris          . .     12     ,, 
„  N.  America       6-7  days. 

,,  India          . .     3  weeks. 

„  Australia   . .     6      ., 

For  large  areas  let  the  pupils  ascertain  how  many 
Yorkshires  to  cover  one  England,  how  many  Englands 
to  cover  the  United  States  of  America,  how  many 
British  Isles  to  cover  India  or  Australia. 

Geographical  knowledge  is  a  gradual  accumula- 
tion ;  care  must  be  taken  that  every  name  is  accom- 
panied by  useful  information,  so  that,  when  the 
name  is  seen  or  mentioned,  the  facts  associated  with 
it  come  up  at  the  same  time. 

Comparisons  (points  of  likeness)  and  contrasts 
(points  of  difference)  are  of  great  value  in  the  teach- 
ing of  geography.  To  compare  and  contrast  the 
situation,  physical  features,  climate,  products,  indus- 
tries, and  government  of  other  countries  with  one's 
own  is  of  prime  importance,  and  is  the  best  means 
of  impressing  salient  facts  on  the  minds  of  the  pupils. 
Tracing  the  causes  of  land  configuration,  and  the 
advantages  or  disadvantages  of  certain  physical 
features  is  both  useful  and  interesting.  Why  the 
west  coasts  of  Scotland  and  Norway  are  rugged  (not 
due  to  Atlantic  waves  only) ;  why  there  are  so  few 
people  and  such  small  towns  in  the  N.W.  of  Scot- 
land ;  why  Britain  is  such  a  great  commercial  and 
naval  power ;  the  effect  of  climate  on  the  character 


GEOGRAPHY.  157 

of  a  people  ;  and  how  a  nation's  industries  are  deter- 
mined— all  this  is  real  geography. 

If  geography  be  taken  at  all  in  the  lower 
Geography  ciasseS;  it  should  be  taken  mainly  in  story 
Youneer  form.  The  learning  of  definitions,  the 
Children.  talks  about  continents  and  oceans,  and 
the  lessons  on  plans  and  cardinal  points 
are  usually  as  dry  as  dust,  and  often  give  children 
a  distaste  for  what  is  really  a  very  interesting  subject. 

Talks  and  stories  about  children  in  their  own 
lands  ;  about  shops  and  shopkeepers  ;  about  fisher- 
men and  fishing  ;  miners  and  mining  ;  factories  and 
factory  workers ;  soldiers  and  sailors ;  policemen 
and  postmen  ;  transit  by  road,  railway,  canal,  and 
river — all  these  things  bring  in  a  large  amount  of 
geographical  knowledge  which  is  within  the  child's 
reach  and  understanding. 

Observation  and  talks  about  the  geography  of 
the  school  neighbourhood  and  of  the  town  or  village 
will  come  next ;  and  then  talks  and  stories  about 
children  and  people  in  European  countries,  and  in 
hot  and  cold  countries  in  various  parts  of  the  world  ; 
stories  of  the  voyages  of  men  like  Columbus,  Drake, 
Captain  Cook,  Peary,  and  Scott ;  and  accounts  of 
the  explorations  of  Stanley  and  Livingstone.  By 
this  method  a  good  foundation  will  be  laid  for  the 
formal  teaching  of  geography  in  the  higher  classes. 

The  drawing  of  plans  in  the  lowest  class 
Prelimin-  jg  an  exercise  of  very  doubtful  value. 
FMan  °  Children  often  spend  a  good  deal  of  the 

Drawing.  "time  allotted  to  geography  in  making 

accurate  plans  of  various  objects — not 
infrequently  objects  without  colour  or  interest.  In 


158  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

any  case  this  kind  of  work  should  be  preceded,  if  not 
superseded,  by  drawings  in  pencil  or  crayon  to 
illustrate  some  fairy  or  other  story,  marking  in  the 
huts,  trees,  hills,  etc.,  in  places  mentioned.  The 
story  of  Robinson  Crusoe  and  his  island,  or  of  the 
places  on  Treasure  Island,  may  be  talked  about  in 
a  simple  way,  and  the  relative  positions  of  the  things 
mentioned  marked  on  a  map  made  by  the  children. 
This  will  be  found  very  interesting,  and  will  gradually 
lead  to  more  accurate  ideas  as  to  what  a  plan  or 
map  really  represents. 

Every  teacher  will   agree  that  he  is  able 

Teacher  of  ^°  ^eacn  ^ne  geograPny  °^  a  district  with 
Geography,  which  he  is  personally  acquainted  far 
more  accurately,  and  in  a  much  more 
interesting  way,  than  that  of  one  he  has  merely 
studied  from  a  geographical  textbook.  This  being 
so,  it  behoves  every  teacher  of  geography  to  obtain  as 
intimate  a  knowledge  of  any  area  he  desires  to  teach 
as  can  be  got  from  the  writings  of  those  who  have 
that  personal  acquaintance  with  its  natural  features 
and  political  associations.  Such  knowledge  cannot 
be  culled  from  the  ordinary  textbook ;  it  must  be 
sought  in  good  books  of  travel. 

A  good  deal  of  useful  information  can  also  be 
obtained  from  various  guide  books,  and  illustrated 
booklets  issued  by  railway  companies,  shipping 
companies,  and  travel  agencies.  Certain  annuals 
also,  such  as  "  Whitaker's  Almanack,"  "  Hazell's 
Annual,"  "The  Statesman's  Year  Book,"  "The 
'  Daily  Mail '  Year  Book,"  and  "  The  ;  Daily  News  ' 
Year  Book,"  contain  articles  dealing  in  detail  with 
productions,  exports  and  imports,  government,  etc., 


GEOGRAPHY.  159 

and  the  compilers  bring  their  statistics  quite  up  to 
date. 

Some  towns  have  commercial  libraries  and 
museums,  where  special  works  may  be  consulted, 
productions  from  all  parts  of  the  world  may  be  ex- 
amined, or  local  manufactures  may  be  seen  in  their 
various  stages  of  production.  All  these  things  will 
bring  the  teacher  as  near  as  possible  to  the  position 
he  would  occupy  if  he  had  had  actual  experience  of 
each  place  and  thing  to  be  considered. 

Occasional  lessons  should  be  given  in 
Lessons^  ge°gfa>pby  on  up-to-date  topics,  and  on 
Geography,  subjects  somewhat  off  the  beaten  track, 

for  example — What  Germany  wanted  to 
do  in  the  east  of  Europe  ;  a  hurricane  in  the  West 
Indies ;  an  earthquake  in  Italy ;  the  Emerald  Isle ; 
the  cruel  Turk ;  an  eclipse  of  the  moon ;  a  hail- 
storm ;  a  thunderstorm,  etc.  These  will  be  found 
very  interesting,  and  will  show  the  children  that 
geography,  like  history,  has  something  to  do  with 
everyday  occurrences.  If  lantern  views  illustrating 
any  of  these  things  can  be  obtained,  so  much  the 
better. 

Latitude  and  longitude  are  often  well 
and  U  taught  from  the  theoretical  point  of  view, 

Longitude,  but  are  seldom  put  to  practical  use  in 
school.  This  deficiency  can  be  remedied 
in  the  following  way.  Have  the  atlases  given  out 
and  opened  at  the  map  of  the  continent  of  Europe, 
or  of  the  World,  and  then  ask  the  children  to  find 
certain  places  ;  e.g.  :— 

Name  a  town  57°  10'  N.  lat.,  and  2°  5'  W.  long. 
(Aberdeen.) 


160  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

Another  51°  5'  N.  lat.,  17°  E.  long.     (Breslau.) 

Another  41°  1'  N.  lat.,  28°  55'  E.  long.  (Con- 
stantinople.) 

Name  a  cape  36°  22'  N.  lat.,  and  22°  31'  E.  long. 
(Matapan.) 

Name  a  mountain  peak  46°  N.  lat.,  7°  E.  long. 
(Mt.  Blanc.) 

Show  the  position  of  a  merchant  ship  in  30°  N. 
lat.,  and  30°  W.  long.  (Let  the  children  put  their 
pencils  on  the  place.) 

One  of  our  warships  is  in  10°  S.  lat.,  and  110°  E. 
long  ;  point  out  its  position.  (S.  of  Java.) 

In  another  lesson  reverse  the  process,  and  ask 
for  the  position  of  various  places.  In  this  way 
latitude  and  longitude  will  be  better  understood, 
and  their  uses  will  be  made  plain. 

Geography  must  be  treated  as  a  science 
that  deals  with  actual  objects.  Cause  and 
effect  must  be  studied  wherever  possible,  and  as 
direct  contact  with  things  and  places  to  be  studied 
is  in  most  cases  impossible,  children  must  be  trained 
to  use  the  map  in  such  a  way  that  they  can  see 
through  its  surface  appearance  to  the  real  things  it 
is  intended  to  portray.  This  can  be  done  only  by 
a  careful  and  thorough  study  of  local  geography  by 
means  of  school  journeys,  and  by  learning  the  methods 
of  representing  the  various  features  on  the  map.  If 
this  is  done,  when  a  child  sees  the  representation  of 
a  river,  headland,  highland,  lowland,  etc.,  he  wrill  be 
able  to  visualize  with  some  measure  of  accuracy  the 
thing  or  place  represented. 

The  old  political  map  with  its  coloured  counties, 
caterpillar  mountains,  and  crowded  names  should 


GEOGRAPHY.  161 

be  scrapped.  Orographical  maps  should  always  be 
used,  and  to  read  these  correctly,  contours  must  be 
thoroughly  understood.  A  clay  model  of  a  hill,  or 
a  chain  or  group  of  hills,  can  be  made  and  the  con- 
tours marked  with  white  cotton.  If  the  model  be 
turned  from  the  horizontal  to  the  vertical,  the  chil- 
dren will  have  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  contour  lines. 
They  will  notice  that  at  the  steeper  parts  the  contour 
lines  are  closer  together,  and  where  the  slope  is 
gradual  they  are  farther  apart.  In  this  way  the 
children  will  soon  be  able  to  read  an  orographical 
map  with  facility.  Later,  when  they  read  the  name 
of  a  place  in  the  newspaper  they  should  be  able  to 
turn  to  the  index  of  the  atlas,  find  out  the  position 
of  the  place  on  the  map,  tell  its  height  above  sea 
level,  give  some  estimate  of  its  climate,  and  thence 
of  its  productions  and  the  occupations  of  its  people. 
Map -drawing  by  the  children  should  be  confined 
to  making  rough  sketch  maps  of  any  district  under 
consideration.  Time  should  never  be  wasted  in 
drawing  the  map  of  France,  or  India,  or  any  other 
country  over  and  over  again  until  it  can  be  repro- 
duced from  memory.  Such  time  should  be  utilized 
in  allowing  the  children  to  fill  in  any  given  particulars 
in  a  cyclostyled  or  hectographed  blank  map. 

In  geography  and  history  lessons  the 
teacher  is  often  tempted  to  do  all,  or 
for  nearl7  A  the  talking  himself.  He  feels 
Geography  that  a  certain  amount  of  information  has 
and  History,  to  be  imparted,  and  so  he  talks  on  while 
the  children  sit  and  listen.  The  result  is 
that  lessons  need  constant  revision,  or  knowledge 
of  the  facts  taught  soon  flies  away.  To  avoid  this, 


162  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

the  teacher  must  put  the  child  in  the  way  of  finding 
out  things  for  himself,  and  then  it  will  be  plainly 
seen  that  knowledge  gained  in  this  way  becomes 
permanent.  For  example,  before  the  teacher  gives  a 
history  lesson  on  the  Crimean  War  he  should  advise 
the  children  how  to  get  certain  particulars  from  their 
history  textbooks,  or  from  readers,  or  from  the 
school  or  public  library  books  ;  such  as  (1)  Causes 
that  led  to  the  War  ;  (2)  Its  course  and  chief  battles  ; 
(3)  Results  and  terms  of  peace.  The  pupils  should 
make  notes,  which  will  be  supervised  by  the  teacher, 
and,  if  necessary,  discussed  with  each  individual. 
Then,  when  the  teacher  gives  a  lesson  on  the  subject 
a  little  later,  it  will  take  the  form  of  conversation ; 
he  will  guide  the  children  to  make  comparisons  and 
contrasts  with  other  wars  that  have  taken  place  and 
which  they  have  studied  before. 

In  geography,  too,  the  heuristic  method  should 
be  applied.  The  pupil  should  be  required  to  study 
the  map,  to  find  out  and  make  notes  of  the  general 
position  of  a  country  or  district  dealt  with,  its 
build,  its  mountains,  its  rivers  and  the  towns  on 
their  banks,  and  any  other  features  that  may  be 
discovered  from  a  careful  reading  of  the  map.  This 
again  can  be  supplemented  by  the  teacher  in  his 
lessons  in  the  way  indicated  with  regard  to  history. 

This  method  will  be  educational  rather  than 
instructional  ;  the  powers  of  observation  will  be 
cultivated  and  trained,  reasoning  power  will  be 
exercised  and  strengthened,  the  power  of  concen- 
tration will  be  increased,  and  the  resourcefulness 
and  self-reliance  of  the  pupil  will  be  brought  into 
use  to  his  own  great  benefit,  both  during  school  days 
and  afterwards. 


163 


CHAPTER  XI. 
HISTORY. 

TEACHING  history  is  really  teaching  by 
T  y,  example.  First  of  all,  history  should  be 

History  ?  taught  for  its  moral  value.  It  is  one 
of  the  elementary  school  '  humanities.' 
Dealing  with  the  lives  of  famous  people,  and  with 
the  actions  of  communities  and  nations,  may  be 
made  of  the  greatest  value  in  the  formation  of 
character. 

We  should  also  teach  history  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  children  a  sound  knowledge  of  the  rise,  course, 
and  present  position  of  their  own  country  from  the 
religious,  commercial,  and  political  standpoints.  These 
are  democratic  days  ;  but  a  democracy  unacquainted 
with  history  is  a  danger  to  itself  and  to  everybody 
else.  Owing  to  lack  of  knowledge  it  cannot  test  the 
statements  of  any  wordy,  dogmatic  aspirant  for 
leadership,  nor  is  it  capable  of  passing  sound  judg- 
ment on  projects  of  great  political  importance.  If 
the  democracy  is  to  rule,  it  can  rule  successfully 
only  through  a  knowledge  of  the  past.  A  careful 
study  of  great  men  and  great  events  will  also  afford 
ample  training  material  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
imagination,  the  memory,  and  the  reasoning  powers 
of  the  children. 

We  must  give  them  some  knowledge  of  the 
greatest  names  of  all  the  nations,  and  through  them 
of  the  progress  of  civilization  to  the  point  where  we 


164  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

find  it  to-day.  As  Kingsley  said,  "  The  history  of 
mankind  is  the  history  of  its  great  men  "  ;  it  is 
certainly  true  that  they  usually  represent  the  best, 
and  sometimes  the  worst,  qualities  of  their  race. 

Children  must  be  taught  to  love  their  mother- 
land, and  to  be  patriotic,  but  not  with  that  insular 
and  false  patriotism  which  turns  up  its  superior  or 
ignorant  nose  at  other  nationalities  ;  it  must  be  a 
patriotism  that  begins  at  home  and  finally  becomes 
international,  as  typified  in  the  "  League  of  Nations." 

There  are  three  methods  in  use  in  teach- 
Teaching  ino  history,  (l)  tne  chronological,  (2)  the 
Methods.  regressive,  (3)  the  concentric. 

The  chronological  method  begins  in 
the  lower  classes  with  simple  stories  from  early 
English  history;  and,  as  the  children  pass  up  the 
school,  the  course  proceeds  from  the  Norman  Kings 
to  the  present  day,  thus  ensuring  that  just  before 
leaving  school  the  child  has  a  good  knowledge  of  that 
part  of  the  history  of  England  which  is  nearest  to 
his  own  time — knowledge  that  should  be  of  great 
use  in  forming  sound  judgments  of  modern  events. 
But  this  method  has  two  serious  drawbacks — (a)  as 
the  years  pass  on,  the  child  forgets  the  earlier  history 
on  which  the  later  history  of  his  country  depends, 
and  (b)  he  receives  no  training  in  historical  perspec- 
tive— a  lack  which  is  fatal  to  the  proper  study  of 
history. 

The  regressive  method  begins  with  present-day 
things  and  events,  e.g.,  the  Policeman,  the  Post- 
man, the  Great  War,  and  it  works  backwards  to  the 
earliest  times.  This  may  seem  to  be  in  accord  with 
the  old  maxim,  "  From  known  to  unknown,"  but  it 


HISTORY.  165 

is  only  seoming.  The  present  is  far  too  complex  to 
be  understood  without  a  knowledge  of  the  past ; 
moreover,  in  his  later  school  years  the  child  will  be 
dealing  with  history  farthest  away  from  his  own 
time,  and  consequently  of  least  value  to  him. 

The  concentric  method  remains  to  us,  and  it  is 
undoubtedly  the  most  suitable  of  the  three  for 
elementary  schools.  The  adoption  of  this  method 
need  not  exclude  the  study  of  a  special  period  or 
subject,  e.g.,  'The  Nineteenth  Century'  or  'Parlia- 
mentary Government,'  in  the  top  class  of  the  school. 
By  the  concentric  method  the  lower  classes  will  have 
lessons  on  prominent  persons  and  interesting  events 
that  form  landmarks  in  history  from  the  earliest 
times  to  the  present  day.  As  the  child  proceeds  up 
the  school  these  will  be  revised  and  expanded,  and 
excursions  will  be  made  from  them  into  other  regions, 
thus  gradually  adding  to  his  stock  of  historical  know- 
ledge. At  the  same  time,  the  child  will  have  a  com- 
plete view,  circumscribed  though  it  may  be,  of  the 
history  of  his  own  country,  with  persons  and  events 
in  their  proper  perspective. 

In.  addition  to  this,  no  child  should  leave  the 
elementary  school  without  some  knowledge  of  general 
history.  Where  this  is  not  given,  he  grows  up  with 
a  far  too  exaggerated  idea  of  the  relative  import- 
ance of  himself  and  his  own  country.  The  un- 
educated, untra veiled  Englishman  often  considers 
himself  as  a  Gulliver  in  the  famous  "  Travels,"  and 
foreigners  as  Lilliputians,  with  the  result  that  he 
becomes  prejudiced  and  overbearing,  and  looks  upon 
other  nations  with  a  certain  amount  of  contempt. 
It  is  the  business  of  the  schools  to  prevent  the 
formation  of  such  views. 
M 


166  MODERN    IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

If  a  class  of  children  be  asked  what  they 
understand  by  "  History,"  a  variety  of 
Making.  answers  will  be  forthcoming.  The  chil- 
dren will  tell  you  it  is  about  kings  and 
queens,  and  battles,  or  about  things  that  happened 
a  long  time  ago.  It  rarely  occurs  to  many  of  them 
that  history  has  anything  to  do  with  their  own  lives 
and  circumstances. 

The  best  connecting  link  is  to  lead  them  to  see 
that  history  is  being  made  all  the  time.  Reference 
should  be  made  to  the  daily  paper  and  its  records, 
and  the  children  should  be  asked  to  name  anything 
important  which  they  think  the  historians  of  the 
future  will  choose  to  put  down  in  the  history  books. 
A  cricket  match  between  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire 
will  loom  large  to  some,  an  important  football 
match  to  others ;  Charlie  Chaplin  will  be  a  far  more 
prominent  figure  to  many  than  will  Mr.  Lloyd  George. 
Various  phases  of  the  Great  War  will  be  mentioned, 
and  then  by  contrast  children  may  be  led  to  see 
which  events  are  the  most  important.  They  will 
gradually  recognize  how  little  it  matters  to  anybody 
whether  Lancashire  or  Yorkshire  wins  a  match,  and 
how  much  aviation  affects  the  whole  nation ;  what  a 
temporary  sensation  a  great  murder  trial  is,  and  how 
permanent  are  the  effects  of  the  invention  of  wireless 
telegraphy  and  the  submarine. 

In  this  way  they  will  realize  that  history  is  a 
record  of  past  and  present  important  events,  and 
that  if  we  are  to  understand  the  present  and  appre- 
ciate the  civil  and  religious  liberty  that  we  enjoy,  we 
must  know  something  of  the  past.  In  the  same  way, 
those  who  come  after  us  muiit  know  something  of 
the  chief  things  that  are  happening  to-day. 


HISTORY.  167 

The  value  or  otherwise  of  pictures  in  the 
Pictures*  teaching  of  history  is  a  matter  on  which 

opinion  is  divided.  Many  historical  pic- 
tures, even  those  by  famous  artists,  are  no  more  true 
to  history  than  some  of  Shakespeare's  historical 
plays,  or  certain  historical  novels.  The  first  con- 
sideration with  the  artist  is  art,  with  the  playwright 
or  novelist,  dramatic  effect ;  and  historical  accuracy 
is  frequently  sacrificed  to  the  artist's  or  writer's 
premier  idea.  Apart  from  this,  a  picture  stereo- 
types a  particular  scene  ;  it  imposes  upon  the  chil- 
dren somebody  else's  idea  of  it,  and  so  robs  them  of 
that  pleasure  of  romancing  and  imagining  which  is 
so  dear  to  the  child  heart. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  child's  idea  of  scenes, 
persons,  implements,  dress,  and  such  like  things, 
will  be  very  wide  of  the  mark  if  he  is  left  entirely  to 
his  own  imaginings.  A  picture  of  a  person  whose 
life  is  being  dealt  with  can  be  fixed  on  the  black- 
board at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson  ;  so  can  pictures 
of  dress,  weapons,  domestic  utensils,  etc.  But  pictures 
depicting  battle  and  other  scenes  should  be  left  until 
the  end  of  the  lesson ;  at  that  stage  they  will  not 
interfere  with  the  child's  visualization  during  the 
teacher's  graphic  descriptions,  and  they  will  aid  in 
correcting  any  erroneous  impressions,  and  in  fixing 
the  probable  scene  in  the  minds  of  the  children.  The 
day  is  rapidly  approaching  when  the  history  lesson 
will  receive  powerful  support  from  cinematograph 
representations  of  historical  plays  and  pageants,  in 
addition  to  the  ordinary  lantern  views  which  will 
always  be  valuable. 


168  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

There  are  many  theoretical  objections  to 
Lsorica       ^e  uge  o^  ^  j^gfoyjca]  novel  as  an  aid 

IlOVelS.  IT-  i  mi  -1 

to  the  history  lesson.  Ihere  is  always  a 
danger  in  mixing  up  historical  fact  with  the  imaginings 
of  historical  novelists.  We  find  men  like  Professor 
Saintsbury  and  Sir  A.  T.  Quiller-Couch  in  favour  of 
their  use,  while  Mr.  Edmund  Gosse  and  others  are 
opposed  to  it.  To  the  experienced  teacher  there 
should  be  no  difficulty  in  making  selections  from 
recognized  standard  works  suitable  for  illustrating 
his  history  lessons,  without  running  any  real  risks. 

How  much  more  vivid  and  interesting  lessons 
become  when  further  light  is  thrown  upon  them  by 
dramatic  extracts  from  good  historical  romances  ! 
The  necessary  '  atmosphere  '  they  create — the  living 
portrayal  of  men,  manners,  and  customs — is  of  the 
greatest  value  to  the  teacher.  For  example,  lessons 
on  the  Norman  Conquest  illustrated  by  extracts 
from  Lytton's  Harold  ;  on  the  character  of  Richard  I. 
from  Scott's  The  Talisman  ;  on  the  times  of  Elizabeth 
from  Scott's  Kenilworth,  or  Kingsley's  Westward 
Ho ! ;  on  the  Commonwealth  from  Scott's  Wood- 
stock ;  on  Monmouth's  Rebellion  from  Blackmore's 
Lorna  Doone  ;  on  the  1715  Rebellion  from  Sir  Walter 
Besant's  Dorothy  Forster  ;  on  the  1745  Rebellion  from 
Scott's  Waverley  ;  on  the  Gordon  Riots  from  Dickens's 
Barnaby  Rudge  ;  and  on  the  French  Revolution  from 
his  Tale  of  Two  Cities. 

The  teacher  who  uses  such  aids  as  these  will  be 
quite  convinced  of  their  value. 

No  Lecturing    in    history    may   be   suitable 

Lecturing      for    Training    Colleges    and    Universities, 
m  History.     but    it    ig    not    g^]^    for    elementary 


HISTORY.  169 

schools.  Some  teachers  prepare  a  lesson  containing 
a  certain  number  of  facts  and  dates,  and  reel 
them  off  in  the  course  of  thirty  minutes  with  an 
occasional  question  thrown  in  here  and  there, 
and  at  the  close  they  feel  quite  satisfied  with  their 
effort  if  most  of  the  children  can  give  oral  answers 
to  three  or  four  impoitant  questions.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact  the  time  has  been  for  the  most  part 
wasted.  Though  there  may  have  been  apparent 
attention,  little  or  nothing  will  be  known  of  the 
subject  a  month  later. 

Narrative  must,  of  necessity,  have  a  place  in 
history  teaching,  but,  at  suitable  intervals,  it  should 
be  interspersed  with  questions  demanding  thought 
and  judgment  on  points  of  conduct  or  action,  on 
probable  developments,  and  likely  results. 

The  introduction  of  selected  pictures,  readings 
from  original  sources,  diaries,  letters,  speeches,  etc., 
will  all  bring  in  variety,  and  will  help  the  teacher  to 
avoid  pouring  out  his  information  in  one  continuous 
stream.  The  more  the  children  can  see  and  examine 
and  find  out  for  themselves,  the  more  impressed 
will  they  be  by  the  lessons,  and  the  longer  will  they 
remember  them. 

One  of  the  difficulties  of  the  teacher  of 
The  Time-  i  •  ,  M , 

Chart  ge°graphy   is  to   get   young   children   to 

realize  the  different  amounts  of  space 
occupied  by  different  land  or  water  areas.  This 
difficulty  is  often  increased  by  their  seeing  a  map 
of  their  county  of  the  same  size  as  one  of  their 
country,  or  even  of  the  continent  that  contains  it ; 
but  an  adequate  use  of  the  map  of  the  world  will 
in  time  correct  their  wrong  impressions. 


170  MODERN    IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

The  teacher  of  history  has  a  still  harder  task  in 
his  endeavour  to  give  the  child  a  correct  idea  of 
length  of  time.  There  is  little  or  no  difference  in 
the  child's  mind  between  the  date  of  his  grand- 
father's birth  and  that  of  King  Alfred.  If  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  those  of  larger  growth  to  acquire  a  true  per- 
spective of  events  both  with  regard  to  time  and 
importance,  how  much  more  difficult  it  must  be  for 
young  children  ! 

One  way  of  partly  overcoming  the  difficulty  is 
by  the  use  of  a  time-chart.  This  is  an  attempt  to 
illustrate  lapse  of  time  by  space  representation.  It 
can  only  be  described  as  a  teaching  device,  an  attempt 
to  represent  a  mental  conception  in  concrete  form ; 
but  experience  proves  that  it  answers  its  purpose 
very  well.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  overload  the 
chart,  or  it  tends  to  distract  instead  of  helping.  The 
best  chart  is  the  one  made  by  the  teacher  with  the 
help  of  the  pupils,  and  made  as  the  lessons  proceed. 
A  good  scale  is  ten  years  to  an  inch.  If  the  last 
vertical  line  be  dated  1910 — Accession  of  King 
George  V. — children  will  see  how  much  space  is 
required  to  represent  the  years  since  that  accession ; 
and  by  comparing  it  with  other  spaces  they  will  have 
some  idea  of  the  duration  of  various  historical  events 
and  epochs. 

Later  on,  the  pupil  will  be  able  to  visualize  any 
date  along  the  line  of  time  as  easily  as  a  musician 
can  visualize  on  the  piano  the  position  of  a  particular 
note  on  the  musical  scale.  The  completed  chart 
should  contain  the  chief  dates,  leading  events,  and 
the  names  of  famous  men  and  women  of  the  different 
periods.  Such  a  chart  will  be  found  easy  to  con- 
struct, suitable  for  the  purpose,  and  very  effective. 


HISTORY.  171 

If  the  teacher  is  to  be  a  successful  teacher 
Philosophy  °^  ^is*or7»  ne  must  know  something  of 
of  History.  the  philosophy  of  history ;  it  is  only 
through  such  knowledge  that  he  will  be 
able  to  interpret  the  happenings  of  to-day.  "  History 
repeats  itself  "  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that 
similar  causes  produce  similar  results.  Of  course  it 
never  repeats  itself  exactly,  because  the  human 
element  is  always  an  incalculable  factor.  There  is  a 
vivid  example  in  Russia  of  to-day,  that  tyranny 
produces  revolution,  revolution  produces  anarchy, 
and  anarchy  again  produces  tyranny ;  and  that  has 
always  been  true.  Environment  influences  man, 
and  man  influences  environment.  We  have  a  glaring 
illustration  of  that  by  the  way  in  which  drinking  and 
gambling  cause  poverty,  and  poverty  drives  people 
to  drinking  and  gambling. 

We  must  know  something  of  the  rise  and  fall  of 
great  empires,  and  the  causes  thereof,  if  we  are  to 
help  in  wisely  guiding  the  destinies  of  our  own  empire. 
It  is  also  interesting  to  observe  how  the  great  civil- 
izations have  from  the  earliest  times  gradually  moved 
westward  from  Assyria,  Babylonia,  Egypt,  Greece, 
Rome,  Britain,  and  thus  see  how  the  premier  power 
is  likely  to  pass  on  to  America,  and  maybe,  in 
future  centuries,  to  Japan  and  China.  A  know- 
ledge of  these  things  will  give  the  teacher  a  wider  and 
surer  outlook,  and  will  make  his  teaching  much  more 
interesting  and  effective. 


172 

CHAPTER  XII. 
SCIENCE. 

SCIENCE  lessons  in  the  upper  classes 
Science  ^  should  consist  of  a  judicious  mixture  of 
Utmer15  nature -study,  physiology  and  hygiene, 
Classes.  chemistry,  and  physics.  They  should  not 

be  dealt  with  in  any  dry  technical  fashion, 
but  should  be  more  of  the  nature  of  enchanting  ex- 
periments and  investigations.  If  the  lessons  are 
made  interesting,  then  the  children  will  exercise  their 
powers  of  observation,  reasoning,  and  judgment, 
almost  without  knowing  it ;  they  will  take  a  delight 
in  discovering,  in  watching,  and  waiting  for,  the 
results  of  an  experiment,  and  they  will  cultivate  the 
habit  of  being  careful  and  reasonably  exact. 

All  older  children  should  know  something  of 
physiology  and  hygiene,  but  it  should  be  practical 
physiology  and  hygiene  that  has  an  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  actual  lives  of  those  who  are 
being  taught.  In  physiology  there  must  be  less 
verbal  teaching  and  more  examination  of  parts  that 
can  be  easily  obtained  from  the  butcher.  In  hygiene 
more  attention  must  be  given  to  the  value  of  fresh 
air,  personal  cleanliness,  and  sleep,  to  matters  of 
food  values  and  sanitation,  and  less  to  technical 
things.  Nature-study  should  deal  with  definite  sec- 
tions of  the  subject  instead  of  consisting  of  isolated 
and  often  unrelated  lessons.  "  Pond  Life,"  "  Bird 
Life,"  "  Insects,"  "  Bees,"  all  supply  lessons  of 
great  variety  and  interest,  and  if  aided  occasionally 
by  the  microscope  and  the  lantern,  the  impressions 
made  will  be  still  more  permanent. 


SCIENCE.  173 

The  work  in  chemistry  and  physics  should  be  of 
the  entertaining  type,  and  of  things  closely  allied  to 
daily  experience.  Experiments  in  heat  and  simple 
mechanics,  lessons  on  the  spectrum,  the  magnet,  the 
compass  needle,  the  dynamo,  the  telephone,  the 
microscope,  and  the  telescope  will  be  interesting  and 
useful,  and  the  whole  will  form  a  suitable  introduc- 
tion to  any  subsequent  study  of  a  definite  scientific 
subject.  Whatever  apparatus  is  needed  should,  as 
far  as  is  possible,  be  made  by  the  pupils  themselves 
in  their  handwork  room. 

Nature-study,  under  the  guidance  of 
a  ski^ul  "teacher  who  loves  Nature,  may 
Delight.  be  made  one  of  the  most  humanizing 
influences  to  be  found  in  our  schools  ;  not 
the  nature -study  that  dissects  flowers  into  petals, 
stamens,  pistils,  etc.,  and  talks  learnedly  about  pollin- 
ation, germination,  and  venation  (these  things  are 
all  right  in  their  place)  ;  but  the  nature-study  which 
leads  the  child  to  love  beauty  in  earth  and  sea  and 
sky,  to  enjoy  the  music  of  the  rippling  stream,  the 
songs  of  the  birds,  the  flowers  of  the  field  and  of  the 
hedgerow,  and  to  revel  in  the  glories  of  a  gorgeous 
sunset. 

Nature-study  on  these  lines  becomes  one  of  the 
'  humanities,'  and  has  a  refining  .influence  that  is 
calculated  to  keep  in  check  those  baser  elements  of 
human  nature  which  modern  commercialism  and 
modern  materialism  tend  to  foster.  The  enthusi- 
astic teacher  delights  in  revealing  to  young  eyes  and 
young  minds  the  beauties  and  mysteries  of  Nature  ; 
the  wonder  and  pleasure  seen  in  the  sparkling  eyes 
of  the  children  are  his  ample  reward. 


174  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

As  one  American  poet  puts  it : — 

"  To  go  abroad  rejoicing  in  the  joy 
Of  beautiful  and  well-created  things ; 
To  love  the  voice  of  waters,  and  the  sheen 
Of  silver  fountains  leaping  to  the  sea  ; 
To  thrill  with  the  rich  melody  of  birds 
Living  their  life  of  music  ;   to  be  glad 
In  the  gay  sunshine,  reverent  in  the  storm ; 
To  see  a  beauty  in  the  stirring  leaf, 
And  find  calm  thoughts  beneath  the  whispering  tree ; 
To  see  and  hear,  and  breathe  the  evidence 
Of  God's  deep  wisdom  in  the  natural  world." 

This  is  the  kind  of  nature-study  that  gives  con- 
stant delight. 

This  should  always  be  done,  in  the  case 
Experi-  of  older  children,  by  the  pupils  themselves, 

I?e-n  a  and  even  the  younger  ones  mav  be  allowed 

Nature-  *'   .       '  ^  ^     1 

Study.          ^0  try.     flowering  plants  can  be  watcned 

and  drawings  made  on  certain  dates,  so 
that  ultimately  the  various  stages  of  development 
may  be  seen  at  a  glance.  Seeds  may  be  grown  in 
sawdust,  and  at  intervals  notes  and  sketches  should 
be  made  of  the  shoots.  Various  kinds  of  soil  can 
be  examined  and  experimented  with,  the  quantities 
of  manure  or  lime  needed  can  be  ascertained,  the 
amount  of  moisture  required  for  any  particular  kind 
of  soil  can  be  discovered,  and  the  effects  on  it  of 
too  much  or  too  little  moisture. 

In  this  and  other  ways  previously  indicated, 
nature-study  may  be  made  of  real  value  as  a  training 
instrument,  and  will  form  the  foundation  of  a  study 
that  may  be  usefully  and  enjoyably  pursued  in  after- 
school  days. 


175 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
HANDWOKK. 

WHEN  parents  or  visitors  see  children  at 
Handwork  work  w^h  d&y>  cardboard,  or  wood,  they 
is  Taught,  often  ask  the  question—  '  Well,  what  is 

the  good  of  all  this  ?     Don't  vou  think 

O  *s 

they  would  be  spending  their  time  better  with  arith- 
metic, reading,  writing,  and  spelling  ?  "  A  satis- 
factory answer  is  not  always  forthcoming.  The 
following  reasons  may  suggest  others  : — 

(1)  Using  the  hands  greatly  assists  brain  growth 

in  children,  and  therefore  develops  intelli- 
gence. 

(2)  Systematic    exercises    increase    manual    dex- 

terity, which  will  be  found  of  great  value 
in  many  after-school  occupations. 

(3)  Such    exercises    afford    the    opportunity    for 

self-expression — a  valuable  factor  in  child 
development. 

(4)  By  concrete  work  and  the  making  of  objects 

and  models  they  introduce  more  reality 
into  other  school  subjects,  such  as  arith- 
metic, history,  geography,  and  nature-study. 

(5)  They  give  opportunity  to  the  child  to  exercise 

his  constructive  powers. 

(6)  The  making  of  useful  objects  trains  him  in 

doing  real  work. 

The  What   an   antipathy   many  teachers  still 

Teacher  and.  have  to  the  subject  of  handwork!  They 
Handwork.  }oo^  UpOn  it  as  one  of  the  usual  fads  that 


176  MODEEN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

periodically  appear  above  the  educational  horizon. 
But  this  is  quite  a  mistaken  idea.  The  dislike  of 
special  handwork  lessons  as  a  means  of  education 
is  really  a  relic  of  the  old  contempt  for  manual 
labour.  The  schools  of  bygone  days  were  for 
the  well-to-do,  and  in  those  privileged  times  to 
work  with  the  hands  was  considered  menial  and 
degrading. 

Many  of  our  educational  notions  have  come  from 
the  schools  of  past  centuries  ;  they  were  suitable  for 
application  to  the  pupils  of  that  day,  but  they  are 
not  suitable  for  those  whose  future  work  will  be 
mainly  of  a  manual  character.  The  artist,  musician, 
joiner,  mechanic,  skilled  workman,  are  judged  by 
their  handwork. 

Systematic  handwork  exercises  of  an  interesting 
kind  can  be  used  to  develop  the  brain-power  of  the 
children  in  our  schools.  But  even  handwork  can  be 
taught  in  the  wrong  way.  If  the  teacher  first  makes 
the  object  in  clay,  paper,  cardboard,  or  wood,  ex- 
plains every  detail,  makes  the  whole  class  do  a 
bit  at  a  time,  and  all  do  the  same  bit  at  the 
same  time  until  the  object  is  finished,  he  may  show 
some  admirable  models,  but,  for  all  that,  he  has  been 
largely  wasting  his  own  time  and  that  of  his  pupils. 
By  that  method  they  are  "  cabined,  cribbed, 
confined  "  at  every  turn  ;  individual  originality  and 
resourcefulness  never  have  a  chance. 

The  child  must  be  allowed  to  experiment,  to 
discover  things  for  himself,  to  express  his  own  ideas, 
and  to  correct  his  own  errors.  If  he  does  these 
things  under  the  teacher's  guidance,  he  will  be 
interested,  and  his  brain  will  be  developing  through 
the  proper  exercise  of  the  hand. 


HANDWORK.  177 

Not  only  is  the  hand  the  servant  of  the 
Value  of  brain,  but  it  contributes  very  largely  to 
Handwork,  brain  development.  It  is  the  finest  instru- 

ment in  our  possession  ;  its  power,  its 
flexibility,  its  adaptability  are  simply  marvellous. 
It  behoves  us  then  to  make  the  best  use  of  it.  When 
the  hand  is  properly  exercised,  the  mind  is  exercised 
also  ;  its  constructive  powers  are  called  into  play. 
Objects  are  carefully  examined,  comparisons  are 
made,  reason  and  judgment  are  called  into  action, 
and  the  child  is  brought  into  direct  contact  with  real 
life.  He  should  be  allowed  every  possible  oppor- 
tunity to  exercise  his  imagination,  to  find  out  things 
for  himself,  and,  in  fact,  to  create.  The  teacher 
must  act  as  guide,  and  aim  at  getting  the  child  to 
give  free  expression  to  his  own  ideas.  Along  these 
lines  handwork  will  be  found  a  very  valuable  school 
subject. 

The     danger    in    connection    with    hand- 
work  is  the  teacher's  tendency  to  do  too 

" 


i<>          i          i'in  i     ii  'i 

Training.  much  tor  the  children,  probably  with  the 
desire  of  having  a  number  of  carefully  - 
finished  models  to  show  to  visitors  and  inspectors. 
With  that  end  in  view  he  constructs  an  accurate 
model,  and  then  teaches  the  children  step  by  step 
how  to  make  a  similar  one  ;  all  doing  the  same 
amount  in  the  same  time  —  no  more  and  no  less. 
Here  the  teacher  does  the  brain  work  and  the  child 
merely  imitates. 

The  mental  value  of  handwork  lies  in  the  oppor- 
tunity it  gives  the  child  to  think  and  reason  and 
judge.  He  should  be  allowed  to  find  out  a  method 
of  construction  for  himself.  As  a  help  in  the  earlier 


178  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

stages,  he  should  be  encouraged  to  bring  some  simple 
object  from  home,  take  it  to  pieces,  and  see  how  it 
is  made  ;  a  match-box,  taper-holder,  or  pin-tray  will 
do.  He  should  then  be  asked  to  make  a  similar  one. 
Older  bovs  could  make  one  larger  or  smaller,  which 

*/  o  ' 

would  train  them  in  proportion.  The  models  thus 
produced  may  not  be  as  pleasing  to  the  eye  as  those 
made  under  the  conditions  referred  to  above  ;  but 
they  will  be  of  far  greater  educational  value.  Mental 
effort  will  have  been  called  forth  in  each  case,  and 
the  interest  will  have  been  greater.  In  special  hand- 
work lessons,  the  more  children  are  required  to  do 
for  themselves  under  the  teacher's  guidance,  especi- 
ally if  they  are  occupied  in  making  useful  objects, 
the  higher  will  be  the  mental  value  of  the  work  done. 

Constructive    work,    whether   applied   to 

the  making  of  models  in  clay,  cardboard, 

Handwork,    wood,   or  metal,   whether  in   writing  an 

original  composition,  a  piece  of  music,  or 

a  poem,   or  in  framing  problems  in  arithmetic  or 

geometry,    is    work   that   increases    knowledge    and 

understanding,  and  gives  a  worthier  ideal  of  work. 

Wherever  possible,  efforts  at  constructive  work 
should  not  only  be  allowed,  but  encouraged.  In 
this  way  the  child  will  have  the  opportunity  to 
materialize  his  own  thoughts  and  ideas,  and  to  gain 
experience  at  first  hand.  Whatever  the  medium  be, 
the  same  method  can  be  followed.  Eet  the  child 
use  his  own  brains  to  find  out  what  is  wanted ;  let 
his  be  the  initiative,  not  the  teacher's.  Let  him  make 
his  own  drawings,  get  his  own  material,  discuss  with 
himself,  and  maybe  with  his  neighbour,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, with  the  teacher  the  pros  and  cons  of  different 


HANDWOKK.  179 

methods  of  attack  ;  let  him,  wherever  time  allows, 
make  his  own  discoveries,  and  form  his  own  judg- 
ments without  being  prompted  by  the  teacher  or 
influenced  by  the  teacher's  opinion.  When  the  child 
has  exhausted  his  own  resources,  then  the  teacher 
steps  in,  and,  by  a  close  examination  of  details  and 
a  series  of  suitable  questions,  he  leads  the  child  to 
see  defects  he  has  not  previously  noticed,  reveals  to 
him  his  weak  points,  corroborates  his  strong  ones, 
and  thus  puts  him  on  the  way  for  new  effort. 

This  method  will  not  produce  '  show  '  models, 
bub  it  will  develop  initiative,  increase  accuracy, 
create  a  desire  to  do  more,  and  encourage  mental, 
physical,  and  moral  development. 


Needlework  -^ie  Domestic  Service  problem  suggests 
that  to  the  emancipated  woman  the 
'  drudgery  '  of  household  work  is  anathema.  But  it 
will  be  a  very  sorry  day  for  English  homes,  when 
cooking,  laundry,  housekeeping,  and  needlecraft 
have  lost  all  their  charm  for  English  women.  The 
home  is  still  the  most  potent  factor  in  English  life; 
and  one  of  the  important  functions  of  the  school  is 
to  help  to  maintain  and  strengthen  and  beautify 
all  that  the  word  '  Home  '  connotes  ;  this  can  best 
be  done  by  infusing  an  interest  into,  and  giving  a 
meaning  to,  necessary  domestic  work,  such  as  it  has 
hitherto  lacked. 

Needlework,  itself  an  ancient  art  —  for  the  Chinese 
were  expert  needleworkers  when  Britain  was  in- 
habited by  skin-clothed  savages  —  has  been  evolved 
from  the  still  more  ancient  art  of  weaving.  The 
primitive  woman  used  her  fish-bone  needle,  first  in 
weaving  baskets,  and  later  in  weaving  fabrics. 


180  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

In  the  school  needlework  lessons  of  to-day  every 
effort  should  he  made  to  bring  into  use  the  child's 
activity,  imagination,  and  love  of  colour.  Its  work 
should  be  a  joyful  experiment,  not  a  monotonous 
toil.  No  white  sewing,  or  dainty  little  stitches,  for 
the  tiny  folk  !  White  stitches  in  white  material  are 
as  trying  to  the  young  child's  eyes  as  drawing  with 
white  crayon  on  white  paper.  There  must  be 
bright  reds,  blues,  yellows,  and  greens,  in  long 
stitches  woven  into  simple  designs.  From  the  very 
beginning,  the  child  should  be  encouraged  to  experi- 
ment and  to  construct ;  its  imaginative  power  is 
strong — let  it  express  itself  in  beautiful  forms. 

From  the  very  beginning,  it  is  important  to 
insist  upon  clean  work ;  a  pretty  pattern,  soiled  by 
dirty  finger-marks,  loses  all  its  attractiveness. 
Posture  is  of  equal  importance.  If  a  child  sits  in  a 
crouching,  huddled-up  position,  it  will  injure  spine, 
chest,  and  eyes.  She  should  sit  upright,  with  the 
head  slightly  bent  forward  and  with  both  feet  on 
the  floor. 

As  the  child  grows  older,  she  will  desire  to 
express  herself  in  the  construction  of  useful  and 
dainty  things,  and  various  articles  of  wearing 
apparel,  tasteful  types  of  which  she  will  be  able  to 
design  and  cut-out  for  herself.  All  this  will  be 
done  side  by  side  with  what  is  known  as  plain  sew- 
ing. Every  effort  should  be  made  to  develop  the 
child's  artistic  tendencies,  and  thus  help  to  banish 
the  tawdry,  the  drab,  the  ill-fitting,  and  the  ugly, 
both  from  the  home  and  from  the  person. 


181 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
DRAWING. 

WE  must  beware  of  imposing  adult 
Drawing  methods  upon  young  children.  It  may 

be  suitable  in  an  upper  class  to  insist 
upon  detailed  observation  of  the  object,  a  careful 
estimate  of  its  proportions,  and  so  on  ;  but  that  is 
the  wrong  method  for  little  people.  As  certain 
prominent  English  and  Continental  educationists 
have  pointed  out,  there  are  several  stages  marking 
the  development  of  the  power  to  draw  accurately. 
When  a  young  child  draws  a  house,  a  pig,  or  a  man, 
he  puts  into  it  all  that  he  knows  about  the  object, 
quite  regardless  of  the  relative  positions  of  the  various 
parts.  He  will  put  two  eyes  in  the  profile  view  of 
the  man,  and  will  show  other  parts  that  -from  his 
position  are  invisible.  Later  on  he  will  pay  more 
attention  to  relative  position,  and  will  be  more  par- 
ticular as  to  detail ;  but  as  a  rule  he  will  not  attempt, 
to  express  space  or  solidity  without  the  guidance  of 
the  teacher.  A  few  children,  naturally  gifted,  will 
pass  through  the  various  stages  rapidly  and  effici- 
ently; but,  for  most,  each  stage  in  the  development 
must  be  noted,  and  the  necessary  individual  help 
given. 

It  will  be  found  a  valuable  exercise  to  allow  a 
child  to  bring  a  young  plant  to  school  and  to  make 
periodical  drawings  of  it  with  dates  attached.  The 
drawings  will  doubtless  be  crude  in  the  lower  classes, 
but  they  will  serve  their  purpose.  This  method  will 

N 


182  MODERN    IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

lead  the  children  to  watch  and  note  the  plant's 
growth,  and  to  record  what  they  see  ;  moreover,  the 
comparisons  will  be  useful  and  interesting.  The 
drawings  can  be  done  in  mass,  with  crayon  or  brush. 
Such  exercises  will  train  the  children  to  observe 
closely,  and  the  result  will  be  seen  in  the  more 
accurate  drawing  of  other  objects. 

.  A  reasonable  amount  of  variety  in  the 
Drawing1"  drawing  lessons  will  be  found  helpful  and 
interesting.  As  a  rule  drawings  should 
be  shaded  or  in  colour,  and  natural  colours  should 
be  used.  Occasionally  a  drawing  lesson  should  be 
devoted  to  the  illustration  of  a  story  or  fairy  tale. 
Drawings  should  be  made  to  illustrate  nature -study 
and  science  lessons.  Parts  of  machines  should  be 
drawn  and  shaded.  Model  drawings  of  such  things 
as  the  open  classroom  door,  showing  as  much  of  the 
outside  of  the  room  as  can  be  seen  from  the  child's 
position,  should  be  made  ;  silhouette  drawings  of 
buildings,  etc.,  can  be  done  in  paint,  crayon,  or  ink. 
Variety  of  this  kind  will  also  help  to  rid  children  of 
the  idea  that  drawing  is  only  for  the  drawing-lesson 
proper,  and  they  will  come  to  appreciate  its  use  in 
many  ways. 

Drawing    the    same  object  with  various 
media   will   be   found  to   afford   valuable 
training  in  accurate  observation. 
A  geranium  leaf  or  fuchsia  spray  may  be  drawn 
in  pencil,   and  then  with  pen,   crayon,   and  paint- 
brush.    It  can  be  taken  in  different  positions,  done 
in  outline  or  in  mass,  and  can  be  shaded  or  coloured. 
Errors  made  should  not  be  corrected  by  black- 


DBA  WING.  183 

board  illustrations,  but  by  leading  the  children  to 
compare  and  contrast  their  drawings  or  any  parts 
of  them  with  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  object 
before  them.  Their  drawings  express  what  they 
see,  and  they  must  be  trained  to  see  accurately. 
With  younger  children  the  object  may  be  made  in 
clay  or  other  plastic  material  before  any  drawing  is 
attempted.  These  methods  will  train  the  children 
in  perception,  and  will  lead  them  to  notice  detail 
as  well  as  mass. 

Let  children  discover  for  themselves  the 
necessity  of  using  scales,  and  the  method 
of  making  them.  Give  the  children  a 
simple  object  to  draw,  that  has  length  or  width  too 
large  for  the  paper.  They  will  soon  find  out  that  it 
is  too  large,  and  probably  some  child  will  suggest 
making  the  long  side  half  the  size.  Let  them  try 
that.  Some  will  be  found  to  have  made  the  short 
side  full  size.  Let  them  compare  the  object  and  the 
drawing,  and  find  out  what  is  wrong.  They  will 
notice  that  it  is  out  of  proportion;  one  side  is  too 
long  compared  with  the  other.  They  will  probably 
suggest  that  this  side  must  be  shortened  also  ;  perhaps 
they  will  suggest  that  its  length  should  be  halved  as 
in  the  former  case. 

When  this  has  been  done,  give  out  some  smaller 
pieces  of  paper,  and  tell  them  to  draw  the  object 
again,  but  that  it  must  be  in  proportion  and  accurate. 
They  may  try  half  again  or  even  a  quarter,  and  then 
find  that  the  paper  is  too  small  to  hold  it.  Some 
may  even  attempt  again  to  use  two  different  units, 
for  the  two  sides  ;  let  them  do  it,  and  they  will  soon- 
discover  that  this  makes  the  drawing  wrong  in  shape., 


184  MODERN   IDEAS   AND   METHODS. 

and  so  they  will  learn  that  only  one  unit  at  a  time 
can  be  used.  From  this  it  will  dawn  upon  them  that 
they  can  use  a  definite  short  length  in  the  drawing 
for  a  definite  longer  length  in  the  object ;  say,  2 
inches  to  1  foot,  or  1  inch  to  1  foot. 

This  method  will  take  up  more  time,  but  it  will 
be  found  far  more  educative  and  valuable  than 
telling  the  children  what  to  do,  and  it  will  enable 
them  to  see  and  understand  the  practical  value  of 
scale  drawing. 


185 

CHAPTER  XV. 
SINGING. 

OXE  of  the  earliest  exercises  with  young 
children  should  be  to  train  the  ear  to  dis- 
tinguish whether  the  voice  is  moving  up 
or  down  the  scale.  Begin  with  wide  intervals,  and 
narrow  them  down  to  moves  up  or  down  of  one  tone, 
or  of  half  a  tone.  Let  the  children  close  their  eyes, 
put  out  the  arm  at  full  length,  and  point  with  the 
first  finger.  When  a  note  is  sung  by  the  teacher 
and  another  one  follows,  let  them  move  the  finger 
up  or  down  according  to  the  direction  of  the  note. 
For  a  wide  interval  let  them  take  a  wide  sweep  of 
the  arm ;  for  one  step  in  the  scale,  a  slight  move  up 
or  down,  the  other  intervals  corresponding. 

When  this  can  be  done  accurately,  put  the  modu- 
lator in  front  of  the  class ;  tell  the  children  to  look  at 
it  while  you  sing  several  notes  by  name  ;  after  a 
brief  pause,  sing  another  note  to  "  koo  "  and  let  the 
children  name  it.  For  example, 

drmfs — koo  (d1)  ;     d'tls— koo  (m) 
mfm    —koo  (s)  ;    smdr — koo  (s,) 

This  may  be  done  at  first  by  the  whole  class,  and 
then  by  individuals.  When  it  can  be  accomplished 
without  difficulty,  proceed  to  the  teaching  of  the 
various  notes  of  the  scale  singly,  according  to  their 
mental  effects.  After  illustrating  the  particular 
quality  of  a  note — soh,  bold  and  bright ;  fah,  plain- 
tive, and  so  on — slowly  sing,  to  "laa"  or  "koo," 
a  phrase  containing  that  note,  and  let  the  children 


186  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

close  their  eyes,  and  put  up  their  hands  when  you 
come  to  the  note.  With  practice  they  will  soon  be 
able  to  distinguish  the  various  notes  when  sung  one 
at  a  time. 

Some  years  ago,  a  good  deal  of  two-part 
Singing  an(^  three-part  singing  was  done  in  the 

upper  classes  of  the  elementary  school ; 
to-day  unison-singing  is  the  rule,  almost  to  the  entire 
exclusion  of  part-singing.  Every  teacher  knows  that 
unison-singing  is  of  great  value  ;  it  gives  him  time 
and  opportunity  to  develop  tone,  light  and  shade, 
and  phrasing  power ;  but  its  premier  value  should 
not  allow  it  to  crowd  out  training  in  harmony.  Chil- 
dren always  enjoy  part-singing  when  it  is  properly 
taught ;  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  famous 
choral  singing  of  Yorkshire  and  Lancashire  owes 
something  to  the  work  of  the  elementary  school 
teacher. 

The  cause  of  this  decline  in  part-singing  has  been 
largely  due  to  the  methods  employed.  Singing  has 
been  taught  in  the  past  by  all  teachers,  whether 
they  were  particularly  musical  or  no  ;  often  with 
disastrous  results.  It  should,  of  course,  be  taught 
only  by  teachers  who  are  really  musical ;  and  this 
is  a  matter  of  easy  arrangement  in  most  schools. 
Moreover,  great  care  should  be  taken  in  the  choice 
of  pieces  and  in  the  choice  of  voices.  To  assign  the 
first  part  to  Standard  V.,  the  second  to  Standard  VI., 
and  the  third  to  Standard  VII.,  is  the  way  not  to  do 
it.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  children  should  not 
study  all  the  parts,  or  why  there  should  not  be  in 
some  cases  an  interchange  of  parts.  If  very  easy 
two-part  modulator  singing  is  begun  in  the  lower 


SINGING.  187 

classes,  and  the  children  are  trained  to  listen  to  the 
part  which  the  other  section  is  singing,  they  will  in 
time  appreciate  and  enjoy  the  harmony,  and  there 
will  be  no  need  for  the  teacher  to  tell  them  not  to 
mind  what  the  other  section  is  singing,  but  to  mind 
their  own,  for  they  will  be  able  to  mind  both. 

When  a  two-part  exercise  is  put  on  the  black- 
board, use  different  coloured  chalks  ;  when  pointing 
on  the  modulator  use  different  coloured  pointers. 
Plenty  of  exercises  with  thirds,  fifths,  and  sixths  will 
be  found  very  useful.  Rounds  in  the  lower  classes, 
when  sung  softly,  will  give  good  practice. 

One  of  the  chief  aims  of  a  teacher  of 
singing  is  to  produce  a  good  quality  of 
tone — the  church  choir  boy's  voice. 

A  necessary  factor  in  the  production  of  good  tone 
is  correct  breathing.  As  a  rule,  children  use  up  their 
wind  too  rapidly,  and  then  singing  often  becomes 
shouting ;  it  also  loses  its  smoothness  and  becomes 
jerky.  Constant  practice  is  needed  in  correct  inspira- 
tion and  expiration.  The  children  should  be  taught 
to  take  in  a  deep  breath  slowly  through  the  nostrils, 
and  then  breathe  out  quickly.  When  this  has  been 
repeated  a  few  times,  try  the  reverse  order  ;  take  in 
a  deep  breath  quickly,  and  then  breathe  out  slowly. 
Repeat  this  three  or  four  times.  It  can  be  varied 
by  letting  the  children  stand,  and  raise  and  lower 
their  arms  from  and  to  their  sides  during  the  proc- 
esses of  inspiration  and  expiration  respectively. 

They  should  also  practise  singing  softly  down 
the  scale  to  "  koo  "  and  "  laa,"  beginning  with  C, 
and  then  rising  a  note  at  a  time  to  D,  E,  F,  G. 

The  following  exercises  will  also  be  found  useful 


188  MODERN   IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

for  practice,  and  may  be  sung  to  "  laa  "  or  "  koo  " 
in  one  breath  : — 

(1)  d  r  m  f  s  1  i  d1  d1  d1 1 1 1 1 1 1  s  s  s  f  f  f  m  m  m  r  r  r  d 

(sung  in  various  keys) 

(2)  d  m  s  m  d  m  s  m  f  I  d'  i  f  1  d1 1  s  t  r' t  s  t  r1 1  d1 

There      are      occasional     odd     moments 

M™  between  the  day's  lessons,  and  times  when 

Moments  J  •  -...        -...      , 

for  Music,  subjects  drag,  that  can  be  readily  utilized 
for  musical  exercises.  At  the  beginning 
or  end  of  certain  lessons  one  or  two  minutes  can 
easily  be  used  for  breathing  exercises,  manual  or 
modulator  practice,  a  few  ear  exercises,  a  bit  of 
staff  notation  work  with  the  fingers,  voice  produc- 
tion, cultivation  of  tone,  or  the  mastering  of  some 
awkward  interval  or  length  of  note.  In  this  way  a 
good  deal  of  ground  is  covered,  and  weak  points  are 
effectively  dealt  with  without  really  robbing  any 
other  subject. 


189 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
PHYSICAL   TRAINING. 

NOBODY  nowadays  questions  the  value 
and  necessity  of  physical  training.  Mens 
fiTsu'fficient.  sana  ^n  corpore  sano  is  now  an  accepted 
maxim,  a  fact  that  need  cause  no  surprise 
after  what  the  medical  examinations  for  the  army 
have  revealed.  As  Mr.  Lloyd  George  said,  "  You 
cannot  run  an  Al  Empire  with  a  C3  population." 
The  business  of  the  schools  is  to  see  to  it  that 
the  rising  generation  has  better  health  and  greater 
staying  power  than  any  generation  that  has  pre- 
ceded it. 

Some  people  argue  that  ordinary  games  supply 
all  that  is  needed.  Plenty  of  cricket,  football,  rowing, 
tennis,  fives,  net-ball,  cycling,  running,  walking, 
jumping,  and  skipping  affords  all  that  is  required. 
But  upon  examination  it  will  be  found  that  nearly 
all  games  exercise  mainly  the  legs  and  right  arm. 
The  confinement  of  physical  training  to  ordinary 
games  would  mean  an  abnormal  development  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  body  at  the  expense  of  the  upper 
part  and  of  the  internal  organs. 

What  is  needed  is  a  general  development  of  the 
body  as  a  whole,  and  this  can  be  attained  only  by 
a  scientific  system  of  educational  exercises.  Such 
exercises  must  be  interesting  and  suitable  to  the  ages 
and  physical  fitness  of  the  children.  Great  care  is 
needed  to  prevent  any  child  suffering  from  over- 
strain. There  are  considerable  differences  in  the 


190  MODERN    IDEAS    AND    METHODS. 

physical  stamina  of  children  of  the  same  age,  and  so 
the  teacher  must  be  on  the  alert  all  through  the 
lesson  to  detect  when  any  child  is  continuing  beyond 
his  strength. 

The  Swedish  system  was  adopted  by  the  Board 
of  Education  in  1904,  and  though  complaints  are 
made  regarding  its  monotony,  yet  if  games  are  inter- 
spersed with  it,  and  the  Eurhythmies  of  M.  Dalcroze 
with  their  musical  accompaniments  are  also  taught, 
probably  no  more  suitable  system  can  be  devised. 
The  day  may  come  when  some  genius  will  invent  a 
series  of  simple  and  interesting  games  that  will 
exercise  all  parts  of  the  body  in  the  same  way  as 
the  Swedish  exercises  do.  May  it  be  soon  ! 

Mental  work  and  physical  work  should 
Exercises  ^e  as  evem"y  balanced  as  possible  in  the 
school  curriculum,  and  should  be  made 
to  alternate.  Subjects  such  as  handwork,  writing, 
art  work,  and  physical  exercises  should  be  inter- 
spersed with  those  lessons  where  the  hands  are  used 
little,  if  at  all.  Physical  exercises,  taken  in  the 
proper  way  at  the  proper  time,  are  a  valuable  counter- 
balance to  hard  study,  though  not  a  remedy  for 
mental  fatigue.  They  should  not  be  taken  at 
the  end  of  a  school  session,  nor  immediately  prior 
to  a  recreation  interval ;  nor  should  the  time  be 
entirely  split  up  into  short  periods  between  lessons. 
With  these  reservations,  there  is  ample  choice  left 
for  the  teacher  both  as  regards  place  and  length  of 
lesson. 

Care  should  also  be  taken  to  avoid  the  violent 
performance  of  the  exercises.  It  may  please  the  eye 
to  see  the  children  putting  every  ounce  of  strength 


PHYSICAL   TRAINING.  191 

into  the  various  movements,  but  in  reality  they 
may  be  doing  themselves  more  harm  than  good, 
especially  if  they  were  mentally  fatigued  to  begin 
with.  Many  fine  athletes  ruin  their  constitution  and 
meet  an  early  death  through  overstrain.  Gentle, 
precise,  rhythmical  movements  will  be  far  more  bene- 
ficial than  any  violent  action. 

Children  delight  in  regular  movements ;  they 
delight  to  march  in  step  to  a  band,  or  to  dance  to 
the  tunes  of  the  street  piano.  Though  it  is  heresy 
to  say  it,  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the  Swedish 
exercises  should  not,  occasionally  at  any  rate,  be 
led  by  pianoforte  accompaniments.  It  is  the  con- 
stant repetition  of  commands,  such  as  : — 

"  Head  backward — bend  "  : 

"  Arms  upward — bend  "  ; 

"  Trunk  upward — stretch  v  ; 

that  bores  children.  Add  music  and  boredom  dis- 
appears ;  and  then  the  exercises  become  pleasurable 
as  well  as  valuable. 


PRINTED  BY  E.  .T.  AUXOLTI  &  SON,  LTD., 

AT   THE1K   WCUKS, 
BUTTEBLEY  STREET,    HUXSLET    LANE,   LEEDS. 


THE  "A.L."  NEW  ENGLISH  COURSE, 

By    JOHN     EADES, 
Head  Master,  Kirkstall  Road  Council  School,  Leeds. 


Book  I.  (for  Grade  I.) 
„  II.  (  „  „  II.) 
„  III.  (  „  ,,  III.) 


Book  IY.  (for  Grade  IV.) 
„  Y.  (  „  „  V.) 
.,  YI.  (  „  „  VI.) 


Book  YII.  for  Upper  Classes,  Central  Schools,  Day  and  Evening 

Continuation  Schools,  and  Lower  Forms  in  Secondary 

Schools. 


This  is  an  entirely  new  series  of  books,  embodying  the  most  up-to-date 
ideas  on  the  teaching  of  the  mother  tongue,  and  carrying  out  the  suggestions 
and  recommendations  of  the  most  progressive  educationists  on  this  highly 
important  department  of  school  work. 

Each  of  Books  I. — VI.  is  divided  into  four  sections  : — Language  Prac- 
tice, Spelling  Lessons,  Composition  Exercises,  and  Selections  for 
Recitation.  Systematic  and  very  carefully  graded  Exercises  are  given  in 
each  part.  In  the  lower  Grades  the  child  is  put  into  possession  of  a  great 
deal  of  language  material,  and  is  taught  the  functions  of  words  and  logical 
analysis,  without  being  worried  with  hard  grammatical  terminology.  When 
Grade  IV.  is  reached,  the  transition  to  such  formal  Grammar  as  is  necessary 
becomes  quite  easy.  And  the  language  material  provided  is  of  immediate 
and  continual  use  in  the  composition  lessons. 

Book  VII.  is  of  a  more  general  and  more  advanced  character.  It 
includes  Grammar,  Composition,  and  Letter- Writing,  and  several  selections 
of  English  Literature  for  intensive  study. 


"HINTS  &  HELPS"  to  the  NEW   ENGLISH 
COURSE, 

Being  TEACHERS'  HANDBOOKS  to  the  above. 


The  Teacher's  Manuals  of  "  Hints  and  Helps,"  one  to  each  of  the 
first  six  Books  of  the  Course,  provide,  in  addition  to  keys  to  the  exercises, 
a  very  large  amount  of  suggestion  as  to  the  method  of  teaching,  which  to 
junior  teachers  will  prove  invaluable,  and  which  even  those  of  long  experi- 
ence in  education  will  find  it  well  worth  their  while  to  read. 

E.  J.  ARNOLD  &  SON,  Ltd.,  LEEDS,  GLASGOW  &  BELFAST. 


A  TREASURY   OF   POEMS, 

Being  a  Book  of  Verse  for  Boys  and  Girls,  Collected  and  Arranged 
by  G.  E.  WILKINSON, 

Lecturer  in  English  Literature  at  the  City  of  Leeds  Training  College. 


Crown  Svo  (4f-in.  x  7]-in.  ,  176  pp.,  full  cloth ;  or  cloth  back,  paper 

boards. 

ALSO    IN    THREE    PARTS. 

Part     I.— for  INFANTS   and    JUNIORS. 
„      II.— for    INTERMEDIATE    CLASSES. 
„    III.— for   UPPER    CLASSES. 


This  is  probably  the  most  suitable  collection  of  poems  for  use 
in  Schools  that  has  ever  been  issued.  Many  of  the  collections  of 
so-called  Children's  Poems  consist  largely  of  poems  written  for, 
or  about,  children,  but  which,  either  in  language,  or  sentiment, 
or  both,  are  quite  beyond  their  understanding ;  or  they  contain,  in 
the  main,  poems  which  older  people  think  children  ought  to  read 
and  enjoy,  though  the  children  often  fail  to  do  so. 

Mr.  WILKINSON'S  collection  is  entirely  different  from  such 
as  these.  All  the  poems  included,  142  in  number,  are  such  as 
children  can  understand  and  appreciate.  A  number  of 
copyright  poems  have  been  included  (among  which  are  poems 
by  W.  Allingham,  A.  C.  Benson,  K.  L.  Brown,  Eugene  Field, 
G.  Macdonald,  H.  Newbolt,  R.  L.  Stevenson),  besides  many 
beautiful  pieces  that  have  never  previously  appeared  in  a 
Collection  of  Poems  for  School  Use. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  graduate  the  poems  approxi- 
mately in  order  of  suitability  to  the  increasing  age  of  the 
children ;  the  shorter  and  simpler  ones  being  placed  first.  The 
book  contains  poems  suitable  for  Infants. 

A  short  but  excellent  Introduction  gives  valuable  Hints 
to  Teachers  on  the  best  way  of  dealing  with  Poetry. 

E.  J.  ARNOLD  &  SON,  Ltd.,  LEEDS,  GLASGOW  &  BELFAST. 


The  "A.L."  WELCOME  READERS. 


Good  Literature;  Carefully  Chosen;  Well  Graded. 


Book  P  (PREPARATORY).— 76  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  5  to  7,  and  containing  the  following 
Stories: — The  Sunflower;  The  Grasshopper;  The  Wonderful  Jug;  The  Spider; 
The  Gift-Box;  The  Laurel  Tree;  The  Car  of  the  Sun;  The  Gentle  Wind;  The 
Golden  Touch. 

Book  PA  (PREPARATORY).— 76  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  5  to  7,  and  containing  the  follow- 
ing Stories:  —  Old  English  Tales;  The  Knights  of  the  Round  Table;  Tales  of  the 
Northmen. 

Book  I. — 141  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  6  to  8,  and  containing  the  following  Stories:  — 
Cinderella;  The  Sleeping  Beauty;  Story  of  the  Robins;  Dick  Whittington;  The 
Ugly  Duckling;  The  Darning  Needle;  A  Real  Princess. 

Book  IA. — 132  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  6  to  8,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
/Esop's  Fables  ;  The  Miller  of  Mansfield  ;  Lizzie  Lindsay;  The  Little  Tin  Soldier ; 
The  Tinder  Box;  Snowdrop  and  the  Seven  Dwarts. 

Book  II. — 2r>2  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  7  to  9,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
Aladdin;  The  Little  Grey  Mouse;  Little  Henry;  Lucky  John;  The  Musicians  of 
Bremen;  The  Hare  and  the  Hedgehog;  Faithful  John;  The  Three  Giants ;  Travel- 
lers' Wonders. 

Book  HA.— 196  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  7  to  9,  and  containing  the  following  Stories :— 
The  Enchanted  Doll;  The  Snow  Queen;  The  Brave  Little  Tailor;  The  Goose- 
Girl  at  the  Well;  The  Three  Brothers;  The  Yellow  Dwarf. 

Book  III.  — 196  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  8  to  10,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
Eyes  and  No  Eyes;  Order  and  Disorder;  The  Ant  who  was  a  Great  Traveller; 
Perseverance  against  Misfortune;  The  Discontented  Squirrel;  The  Dog  and  his 
Relations;  The  Kid;  The  Water- Babies:  The  Mad  Tailor,  or  The  False  Prince; 
The  Caliph  Stork. 

Book  IllA.— 200  pages.  Suitable  forages  8  to  10,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
St.  George  of  Merry  England;  Sindbad  the  Sailor;  The  Blue  Bird. 

Book  IV.— 296  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  9  to  n,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
Rip  Van  Winkle;  The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow;  Stratford-on-Avon ;  TheCatskill 
Mountains;  The  Christinas  Stocking  and  the  Tales  its  Contents  Told;  Alice's 
Adventures  in  Wonderland. 

Book  IVA. — 284  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  9  to  n,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
The  Story  of  William  Tell;  The  Story  of  Hiawatha;  The  Swiss  Family  Robinson. 

Book  V. — 288  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  10  to  13,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
Some  Legends  of  Greece  and  Rome;  A  Christmas  Carol;  Round  the  World  in 
Eighty  Days. 

Book  VA. — 284  pages.  Suitable'for  ages  10  to  13,  and  containing  the  following  Stories: — 
Golden  Deeds  of  All  Times;  Hereward  the  Wake;  Robin  Hood  and  his  Merry  Men. 

Book  VI. -288  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  n  to  14,  and  containing  the  following  Stories:— 
A  Wonder  Book;  The  Chimes;  Tom  Brown's  School  Days. 

Book  VIA.— 288  pages.  Suitable  for  ages  u  to  14,  and  containing  the  following  Stories:— 
Tangle  wood  Tales;  The  Last  Days  of  Pompeii;  Lorna  Doone. 

Book  WVI.— 285  pages.  Formerly  advertised  as  "Selected  Tales  from  Shakespeare," 
containing  the  following  Plays  from  Lamb's  Tales  from  Shakespeare: — The  Mer- 
chant of  Venice;  As  You  Like  It;  King  Lear;  A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream; 
Much  Ado  about  Nothing;  Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark;  Macbeth;  TheTempest; 
A  Winter's  Tale;  Romeo  and  Juliet;  Othello,  the  Moor  of  Venice. 

E.  J.  ARNOLD  &  SON,  Ltd.,  LEEDS,  GLASGOW  &  BELFAST. 


A  MODERN  DICTIONARY  of  the  ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE. 

Crown  8vo,  iv.  +  764  pp. 

This  Dictionary  has  been  specially  prepared  for  the  use  of  pupils  in 
Secondary  Schools  and  in  the  Upper  Classes  of  Elementary  Schools. 

It  contains : — 

)  A  Total  of  S2»313  entries,  and  an 

•  8-page  Appendix  of  Classical 

750  Abbreviations  •,  „   ,.r ,          .  „ 

one  t.       -^     in          a,  r»u  and  Mythological  Names. 
895  Foreign  Words  &  Phrases' 

The  book  is  thoroughly  practical,  quite  up-to-date,  and  a  reliable 
companion  to  current  newspapers,  magazines,  books,  and  conversation. 
Prefixes,  abbreviations,  and  foreign  words  and  phrases  are  arranged 
in  the  body  of  the  Dictionary  in  their  proper  alphabetical  order. 

THE   SHORTER   MODERN    DICTIONARY. 

Crown  8vo,  3S4  pp.,  clear,  bold  type. 

This  work,  containing  over  27,000  entries,  is  the  Modern  Dictionary 
revised,  condensed,  and  to  a  very  large  extent  re-written,  so  as  to  adapt  it  to 
the  needs  of  pupils  at  a  less  advanced  stage  than  those  for  whom  the 
Modern  was  designed.  The  main  features  of  the  original  work  are  here 
preserved  ;  the  abridgment  has  been  effected  by  omitting  such  words  as 
pupils  in  elementary  schools  or  in  the  lower  forms  of  secondary  schools  are 
not  likely  to  corne  across  in  their  reading. 

THE    "A.L." 

SCHOLAR'S   ENGLISH   DICTIONARY. 

With  Select  List  of  ABBREVIATIONS  &  FOREIGN   WORDS 
and  PHRASES. 

Crown  8vo,  100  pp.,  containing  nearly  14,000  words. 

Irregular  plurals  and  other  forms  are  abundantly  noted.  Every  word 
of  more  than  one  syllable  is  syllabicated,  and  the  place  of  accent  marked. 
The  pronunciation  is  shown  in  every  case  where  it  may  fairly  be  deemed 
necessary  ;  and  alternative  spellings,  forms,  and  pronunciations  are  given. 

E.  J.  ARNOLD  &  SON,  Ltd.,  LEEDS,  GLASGOW  &  BELFAST. 


WORKS  by   HOWARD  E.  WARD, 

Late  Lecturer  on  Nature-Study  to  the  Cheshire  Education  Committee,  and 

sometime  Lecturer  ox,  Nature-Study  to  the  Antbleside 

Holiday  Course  Association. 


THE 'HOW  &  'WHY'  OF  GARDENING, 

Being  GARDEN  ROUTINE  for  Schools  and  Amateurs. 
Crown  8vo,  250  pp.,  with  73  Illustrations. 

School  Gardening  has  come  very  much  to  the  front  in  recent  years,  and 
bids  fair,  in  the  future,  to  hold  a  foremost  place  amongst  the  various  forms 
of  Handicraft. 

Mr.  Ward's  Book  will  be  found  a  thoroughly  reliable  guide.  It  is  a  book 
to  which  either  teacher  or  pupil  can  turn  for  help  when  needing  it. 

Among  other  things  it  deals  with  : — How  to  plan  out  a  School  Garden; 
How  to  cultivate  the  Soil ;  Drainage ;  Manures,  their  kinds  and  uses ; 
How  to  deal,  and  How  not  to  deal,  with  Plants — Fruits,  Flowers,  and 
Vegetables;  Rotation  of  Crops;  Garden  Pests — Parasites,  Insects,  and 
Fungi. 

HELPFUL  NOTES  ON  NATURE-STUDY 

(PLANT  LIFE), 

BEING  A  SYLLABUS  OF  LESSONS  FOR  SCHOOLS. 
Crown  8vo,  294  pp. 

This  book  is  essentially  a  Teaclier's  Aid.  The  work  is  arranged  in  fifty 
lessons,  and  at  the  head  of  each  will  be  found  General  Suggestions  as  to 
the  best  method  of  dealing  with  the  Subject. 

On  the  left-hand  page  is  given  the  Subject  Matter  of  the  lessons, 
together  with  Suggestions  and  Hints,  Practical  Work,  Field  Work,  etc. 
On  the  corresponding  right-hand  page  is  given  Additional  Matter  for  the 
Teacher's  own  information. 


NOTES  ON  ANIMAL   LIFE. 

Crown  Svo.  viii.  +  362  pp. 

This  book  is  a  companion  volume  to,  and  is  prepared  on  the  same  plan 
as,  the  Author's  "  Helpful  Notes  on  Nature-Study  (Plant-Life)  "  (above). 

The  book  is  arranged  in  fifty  lessons.  The  Subject  Matter  is  on  the 
left-hand  page,  with  additional  information  for  the  Teacher  in  corresponding 
paragraphs  on  the  right-hand  page. 

Among  the  subjects  dealt  with  are  : — The  Rabbit,  Fox,  Squirrel,  Weasel, 
Otter,  Mole,  Frogs,  Toads,  Butterflies,  Bees,  Ants,  Dragon-flies,  Snails  and 
Slugs,  Beetles,  Bot-flies,  etc.,  etc. 

Each  of  tlie  above  books  contains  a  Glossarial  Index. 

E.  J.  ARNOLD  &  SON,  Ltd,,  LEEDS,  GLASGOW  &  BELFAST. 

i3f.Jio-r-»i«-6,296r. 


2-i 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 
EDUCATION  AND  PSYCHOLOGY  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


H 


JUL  2  3  1969 
JUL24 


«o./  PSYCH 
LIBRARY 


RECEIVED 

JUN  141973 


2  0 1978 


Form  L9-10m-9,'65(F7203s8)4939A 


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